She Needs Help
by btvscharmedgirl
Summary: Brittany S. Pierce was said to be many things. She was honest, kind, happy, sweet, a unicorn, confused most of the time, and most importantly observant. She often saw little things that most people didn't see. Some of the things she saw confused her, but there were times when the little observations painted a clear picture in her mind. This was one of those times.
1. Blame it on the Alcohol

AN: I do not own Glee.

Warnings: This fic is going to deal with the topic of rape. There is a small scene that is slightly graphic in this chapter, but after this very mention of the act will be more clinical. This is a Brittberry paring, other pairings are up for debate. Give it a try. The story is going to be a lot more light and fluffy then you think. It's just the first few chapters that will be heavy.

Chapter One: Blame it On the Alcohol

An empty bottle laid forgotten on the floor. Red solo cups were strung across the floor. Pillows from the bed were scattered in random spots around the room. The blankets were falling off the bed, and retching could be heard from the bathroom.

A fortnight of nightly binge drinking had caught up with the houses sole occupant. She thought about stopping. She thought about asking for help. She thought about telling her Glee coach that she had broken her contract the very same day she signed it, and that she had continued to break it every day since.

Every time she thought about all of these things she was reminded of why she had been drinking so heavily. She couldn't shake the feeling of his gruff hands in places that she hadn't wanted. She couldn't stop feeling the fear she had felt when she realized what he was going to do, or what it felt like when her forced his way inside of her. She kept telling herself that she wanted it. That she had lead him on. That she loved him, and that he really did love her. That what happened between them was something sweet and loving.

She had woken the next morning not feeling happy that it had finally happened, but shameful. She didn't want to lose her virginity like that. She didn't want to lose it while she was drunk. She had tried to tell him no, but he just loved her so much that he didn't hear her.

She had tried to convince herself that she wanted to lose her virginity to him that night. She had been incredibly drunk, and the night was fuzzy. She was sure she must have wanted. She was sure that she had said yes. After all, she did love him, but the panic she felt every time she saw him. The heavy sinking feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach made her question what happened between them. Did she want it?

So to keep the confusing feeling at bay, she drank herself into a stupor each night. She stayed just drunk enough to keep her going, but not drunk enough to arising suspicion from her peers and teachers.

She stupidly threw herself at her friend's very gay friend to prove to herself that what happened didn't affect her the way she thought it did. When he realized that he was indeed gay, she drank herself further into a stupor then before. That was nearly two week ago. Now Rachel Berry was dry heaving into her toilet while heavily crying to herself. She realized for the umpteenth time that night she might need somebody to help her before she lost all control and lost everything she cared about.

She picked herself up off the floor and stumbled back into her bedroom. She picked up the empty bottle of off the floor and tipped it upside down over her mouth. When nothing came out she stumbled out of her room and down the stairs to her fathers' liquor cabinet. She found an unopened bottle of scotch on the bar in the Oscar room, and shakily unscrewed the lid. She poured herself a glass and downed it in one gulp. She stumbled over to the couch and passed out almost instantly.

* * *

Brittany S. Pierce was said to be many things. She was honest, kind, happy, sweet, a unicorn, confused most of the time, and most importantly observant. She often saw little things that most people didn't see. Some of the things she saw confused her, but there were times when the little observations painted a clear picture in her mind. This was one of those times.

For the last week Brittany and been paying close attention to Rachel and the way she was acting. She had been confused at first. Rachel seemed so adamant that she was never drinking again, but them Rachel showed up the next day wearing a silly little grin. The same grin she had been wearing the entire time they had drinking together. There was also something in the way that Rachel was walking and talking. Like she was working extra hard to make sure every movement was perfect, and every word was spoken with perfect dictation.

Brittany thought that maybe she was seeing things. That was until the following day, when Rachel came to school the same way, and she definetly couldn't deny it after the third day in a row. She kept wondering to herself why Rachel was coming to school drunk every day when Rachel had promised not to drink until after Nationals.

It was subtle. Rachel's smile said that she was happy to be in his orbit, the flirtatious tone in her voice as she spoke to him hid her true feelings. Rachel's eye told the true story. Fear shown through brightly for anybody who cared enough to see it. The way her brow furrowed when she though nobody was looking, or the way she flinched and then tensed every time he touched her arm.

Every time Brittany saw something she would look around to see if anybody else saw it as well, but they all seemed to be caught up in their own thing to notice. Either that or they just didn't care.

Brittany watched Rachel for over a week before she was sure that her thoughts were correct. It saddened her deeply to see Rachel going through this alone and wanted desperately to be able to help her. Starting with getting her to stop drinking. With each passing day Rachel composure was slipping, and the signs that she was drunk were becoming ever more present. By the end of that day Brittany had come up with a plan to help Rachel.

After school let out she made her way to the choir room where she was meeting her best friends. She knew that they were going to be reluctant to help her, but she had a way with Santana and Quinn that nobody did. Besides, they understood her in a way that nobody else did.

Santana and Quinn strolled into the room. Brittany ushered them into their seats, and then went and locked the doors. She turned back to her friends to see them looking at her wearing matching amused looks on their faces. She really wished that she wasn't about to wipe those looks off their faces because they both looked so adorable.

"I now declare this meeting of the Unholy Trinity in session," Brittany said, in her usual bubbly voice. She took a seat across from her friends.

"Alright Britts," Santana chuckled. "Why are we here, and why all the secrecy?"

"I have called this meeting to discuss something very important," she paused for dramatic effect. "Rachel Berry."

Quinn snorted and then laughed out loud, earning her a rather scary glare from Brittany. "Oh. You weren't joking. You really want to talk about man-hands?"

"Don't call her that," Brittany said rather calmly. "That's bullying and I will no longer sit by and watch you hurt Rachel."

"What the hell Britts?" Santana asked. "Why are you defending Treasure…?" Brittany glared at her. "Err. It doesn't' matter."

Quinn rolled her eyes at Santana and then asked, "B, where is this coming from?" She honestly want to know why the other blonde had a change of heart.

"Rachel is hurting and she needs our help," Brittany said.

"Please. The munchkin has a whole land of munchkin people to help her. She doesn't need us," scoffed Santana.

"Yes she does. He daddies aren't home yet, and nobody but me has noticed her problem," Brittany pleaded.

"How do you know her dads are still away? It's been like three weeks since the party," Quinn asked. Brittany couldn't be right about that.

"Because I'm sure if they were home already, then Rachel wouldn't be coming to school drunk every day," reasoned Brittany.

"Britt, I think if Berry was coming to school drunk every day then one of us would have noticed," Quinn said.

"I have proof," Brittany said, and then ran over to the waste basket next to the piano. She pulled a few pieces of crumpled sheet music out of the can, and then pulled out a blue stainless steel water bottle decorated with blue star stickers. Quinn and Santana knew right away whose water bottle it was.

Brittany handed the bottle to Quinn, who unscrewed the cap and took a whiff. The smell of alcohol was strong in the canister. Her shoulders slumped, and then she handed the bottle to Santana. She took a whiff and nearly gagged at the smell.

"Damn," She said. "How did we not notice that she was trashed?"

Quinn shrugged her shoulders. "I guess Berry is just really good at hiding it. Either that or we are just really crappy people."

"It's both," Brittany said.

"Britt," Both girls said appalled.

"What it's true. Everybody treats Rach like a play toy. You only want her around when you want to play with her and the rest of the time she stays in the closet."

"Geeze. Tell us what you really think," Quinn said sarcastically.

Brittany looked at Quinn like she wasn't listening to her. "I just did Q."

"I… Never mind," Quinn said. "How long do you think she's had a drinking problem?"

"Since the night of her party," Brittany said.

"And you know this how?" Santana asked.

"Because she was drinking that night and the rest of the week like the rest of us, but when she signed the contract for Mr. Schue she didn't stop. I noticed it the day after that."

"Okay," Santana said. "Britt. I'm not seeing how any of this is our problem."

"It's our problem because Rachel is a friend, and it's our job as her friend to look after her.

"Except for one thing. We aren't friends with Berry, Britts," Santana said.

"Well I want to be her friend," Brittany said.

"Then go be friends with the annoying hobbit," Santana said, and waved her hands toward the door.

Brittany looked at her friends in annoyance. She was coming to them for help, because she knew that they would know what to do. "But I don't know how to help her."

Quinn and Santana shared a looked. Santana sighed, "Fine Britt. We will help you, help the hobbit. Just stop giving me that look. It's not fair."

"Yay!" Brittany quietly said. "So this is the plan to get Rachel to accept our help…"

* * *

Rachel had arrived home from school an hour before and she was already halfway through a bottle of red wine. It was Friday, so she didn't have to worry about getting up for school the next day. She was in the living room with some random TV show playing in the back ground. She didn't really care what she watched, just so long as she wasn't left in silence.

She brought the bottle to her lips and chugged the rest. She dropped the bottle to the ground and belched loudly. She laid there staring at the ceiling, wondering if there was always red botches of paint mixed in with the white. A loud banging on door brought her back to reality.

The fear of being home alone and what happened to her after the party was brought back to the forefront. She only calmed down and opened up when she heard Brittany calling through the door. She cracked the door open to make sure that it really was Brittany and not a recording of Brittany. Not that she knew why somebody would do that, but she wasn't really trusting anything anymore. It was better to be safe than sorry. A lesson she learned the hard way.

As soon as the door opened a crack Santana pushed her way through before Rachel could close it again. Rachel shrieked and jumped back in fear. "Geeze, Chill hobbit. We ain't here to kill ya."

"Santana be nice," Brittany chastened. She went to help Rachel up from where she was cowering on the floor, but she scooted away farther. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. Neither are Santana and Quinn. We're here to help you."

Rachel seemed to realize how her cowering on the floor looked. She stood up and slurred heavily, "I'm fine, Brittany. I don't need any help."

Santana scoffed. "That's why your three shades to the wind at five o'clock, right?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders and then she walked into her living room. "I don't need a lecture from you Satan. So either get your ass in here and drink with me, or get the hell out."

Santana gave her friends a what the fuck look, and the shrugged her own shoulders. "That was easier than we thought it would be. What the fuck ever though. If Berry is spiraling out might as well enjoy this version of her for a while." She then followed in Rachel's tracks.

"Santana, wait. That's not why we're here," Brittany called after her friend. She started to follow Santana, but was halted when Quinn gently grabbed her arm.

"Britt, wait," She said quietly. She had been watching Rachel closely since they arrived, as well as how Brittany was acting around her. "You know more then what you told us don't you?"

Brittany looked at Quinn sadly. She didn't say anything to Quinn. She just nodded her head and then turned to follow Santana into the living room. Brittany didn't need to explain any further. If she was right about what she thought happened to Rachel, then Quinn would figure it out quickly.

If Rachel really had been hurt the way she thought, then Brittany was going to need Quinn and Santana to help Brittany with Rachel. She knew how she could get Rachel to stop drinking, but Brittany didn't know how to help Rachel through the trauma. She didn't know how to help Rachel to get past it.

Rachel handed Santana a brand new bottle of wine and then opened a second bottle for herself. "I gotta say Berry. I'm liking this side of you. You're not nearly as uptight and annoying as you usually are."

"Thanks Santana," Rachel slurred. "Drink up so you can become less of a bitch."

"Ooooo," Brittany said as she walked into the room. "Them's be fighting words Rach."

"Hell yeah they are Britt," Santana said, still feeling shocked that Rachel had the balls to say that to her. Then again she was drunk as shit, so Santana wasn't sure why she was so surprised. "You got balls Berry. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Rachel said, and then tipped the new wine bottle back.

"Wo, Rach." Brittany reached out and snatched the bottle out of Rachel's hands. "I don't think that you should be drinking anymore."

"Well I say I should drink this whole bottle before considering to stop," Rachel said, and then snatched the bottle back from Brittany. "What the hell are you even doing here?"

"We are here to help you," Quinn said from the entrance way.

"I don't need any help. I'm having a little fun on a Friday night," Rachel said. She then gasped and threw her empty hand up to her mouth. "Oh my Barbara, call the fun police. I'm committing a crime."

"Damn. I really like this Berry. Why can't you be like this when you're not drunk as a skunk?"

"Santana you're not helping," Brittany yelled irritable.

Santana looked up at Brittany in surprise. She threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine you win. Berry. Give me the bottle."

Rachel looked at Santana with a glare. There was no way she was giving her bottle to Satan. Santana went to snatch the bottle out of Rachel's hands. She touched the girl's arm to keep her from falling as she grabbed the bottle. Rachel jumped as though Santana had just burned her, and took several steps away Santana.

"Wo there Berry," Santana said. "I didn't mean to scare you." Santana looked at her friends questioningly. She had barely touched Rachel. Why the hell was she reacting like that?

Quinn was looking at Rachel carefully. Through Rachel's drunken eyes, she could clearly see fear. Real fear. The kind that doesn't come from every day paranoia, but the kind that comes after a traumatic incident. She knew that look well. It was the same look that her mother had worn around her father for years. A look that only went away after her mother started opening up about the abuse she was sustaining behind closed doors.

"On second thought B," Quinn said. "Maybe it would be a good idea to have a little fun tonight. I mean it is just one night. Besides if you want me to get through this weekend without killing Man-hands then some alcohol is definitely needed."

"Q, I said not to call her that," Brittany chastened.

Quinn didn't care what Brittany had just said to her, but rather Rachel's reaction to it. The girl was looking at Brittany with an adoring look on her face. While Rachel was staring at Brittany like a lost puppy who found its owner, Quinn looked at Brittany and subtly nodded her head at Rachel and sent a 'just trust me' look.

Brittany looked down at Rachel, and it was like Quinn's thoughts were transported into Brittany's mind. Brittany was sure that she had just gained Rachel's trust. Figuring that Quinn had a plan forming, Brittany said, "Okay Q. Let's have some fun."

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Santana said, and handed Rachel her bottle back. "Drink up small fry. We are going to get our party on."

"My sentiments exactly," Rachel said, and then flopped onto her couch. Rachel may have been drunk, but she wasn't stupid. She knew she was getting played. She just figured she might as well fuck with them until she figured out what they really wanted. Plus it was nice to not be alone. Her confusing thought and feelings consumed her mind when she was alone.

"So. Why do you think that I need help?" Rachel asked.

Brittany came over and gently took the bottle from Rachel and took a swig. She handed the bottle back to Rachel and asked if she could sit where her feet where. She was hoping that Rachel would be okay if she got used to having friendly contact. She didn't like seeing Rachel jump every time somebody touched her. Instead of sitting up like she thought Rachel would, the girl lifted her legs up and motioned for her to sit. Brittany sat down and allowed Rachel to drop her legs onto her before she got comfortable.

Rachel tensed up when Brittany gently placed her hand on her shin. She hated that she couldn't control her body from doing that. It's not like anything bad happened to her. She just had sex with her ex-boyfriend. With the man she loved with all her heart. There was nothing wrong with that.

No matter how many time she told herself that, deep down she just didn't believe it. She just refused to accept the truth.

Rachel forced herself to relax and try to enjoy Brittany's soft hands kneading her leg gently. It was soothing. What wasn't soothing was the stares she was getting. It's like they knew what had happened between her and Finn, but that was impossible. Unless of course Finn was going around telling everybody. No he wouldn't do that. He would become an even bigger outcast if he admitted that he slept with her. He took her virginity though, so she was sure that he would get big props for that. So maybe he was going around telling everybody.

Santana, Quinn, and Brittany were looking at Rachel in concern. While Rachel had relaxed into Brittany's embrace, Rachel seemed to have checked out. She was staring past Brittany looking at nothing. Her eyes were blinking, but there seemed to be no Rachel home behind them.

Brittany shook Rachel's legs, and then said the girl's name. She got no response. When Santana stood up and shook Rachel, she came out of her stupor and nearly jumped off the couch over the back.

"Wo," Santana said. She suddenly realized that something was really wrong with Rachel. Something other than her apparent drinking problem. "Geeze. You really need to relax. I think you've been home alone for too long. You're getting a bit jumpy."

"You may be right," Rachel said, and then composed herself. She was going to have to relax and keep herself as composed at all times. That was a lot easier to think then actually do when you are drunk. "How about we play a game or something." There. Now at least they will have something else to concentrate on instead of watching her.

"Ooo. That sounds like fun," Brittany said. "What should we play?"

"How about we play Truth or Dare," Quinn said. She knew that people were less likely to lie when they were drinking. It was harder to think of a lie when your mind was slower.

"Perfect idea, Quinn. There are a few things that I've been dying to ask Berry here," Santana said.

"I don't think that is such a good idea," Rachel said. She did not like the tone in Santana's voice at all.

"Come on Rach. It'll be fun. Please."

Damn. She sudden was overcome with the overwhelming feeling to say yes. It's like Brittany could do some Jedi mind trick or something. "Fine. True or dare sounds like fun."

"It will be so much fun," Brittany said. "But to keep it fair, we should spin the bottle when it's you turn."

"That's a great idea B," Quinn said. "Berry do you have any empty bottles."

Rachel looked at Quinn and said very seriously, "Um…Duh. I'm a drunk, remember." She then started to laugh hysterically.

Quinn, Santana, and Brittany stared in amusement. They knew that Rachel's laughter was just a product of the copious amounts of alcohol she had consumed, but it was still nice to see Rachel so loose and free. The Rachel they saw everyday never laughed. She was always so serious. Always worried about her next solos, and getting the music notes right, and the choreography.

"Hey," she said as she calmed down. "You never told me why you think I'm a drunk."

"Oh…Um…" Quinn got off the couch and went to her abandoned bag. She pulled out the bottle that Brittany had stolen from Rachel, and sat it on the coffee table. "Brittany swiped this from you to prove her theory that you were coming to school drunk every day."

Rachel's stomach dropped when she saw the bottle. She hadn't even noticed that she was missing it. That was careless of her. "It's not what you think."

"So you haven't been coming to school every day drunk?" Brittany asked hopeful. She honestly wanted Rachel to tell her she had been making things up in her head and projecting them it real life again. Her therapist is always telling her that this is happening. She doesn't believe that the Glee club just randomly start singing in the middle of the halls, with music and everything just like in High School Musical.

"Oh. I guess it is what it looks like," Rachel said.

"Why Rachel?" Brittany asked.

The sad look that Brittany was giving her made her chest hurt. It was like Brittany was burrowing throw Rachel's mind to find the answers she sought. Rachel couldn't handle that. She was drinking to get rid of her unwanted bad feelings. She didn't want to add more to it.

"Because I want too," Rachel said and stood up. "Look. Don't read into this. I'm fine. Nothing is wrong with me. I'm cool if you stay here, which you obviously where planning on doing judging by you packed bags, but you need to lay of this. I'm not an alcoholic, and there most definitely is not a reason behind me drinking other than wanting to have a little fun for once. So either drop it or get out."

Brittany looked fearful. She didn't want to leave. "Okay Rach. We'll drop it."

"Good. I'm famished, and feeling more sober then I would like. I'm going to order pizzas and then we can get this party started," Rachel said. She walked out of the room before anyone said anything.

Santana looked at the door and then back at her friends. "Okay. What am I missing? You two are acting stranger then Berry. So spill?"

Brittany and Quinn looked at each other, silently communicating if they should tell Santana. Out of all three of them, Santana would be the best person to get answers from Rachel. She was the only one of them who wasn't afraid to ask the questions, and when Santana wanted to know something she was relentless at getting the answer.

"Brittany thinks. No we think that Rachel was…" She couldn't say the word allowed.

"I think somebody hurt Rachel the night of the party," Brittany said quietly.

Santana looked at Brittany for a solid minute. "You think that one of the boys raped Rachel?"

"Yes," Brittany said, with a deeply sad look on her face.

"I…Seriously?" She asked. She just couldn't believe it.

"She keeps flinching and tensing up every time somebody touches her," Brittany whispered. She didn't want Rachel to overhear them.

"And it's there in her eyes. The same fear my mom wore around my dad," Quinn said. "Something happened to her that night."

Santana looked at Brittany. "You knew this before coming here. This is why you wanted us with so badly."

"She so sad San. I don't like it. I don't want her to be a sad panda."

Santana looked over shoulder at the kitchen door to make sure Rachel wasn't standing there. "I don't know if we can help her. Maybe we should call her fathers or maybe Mr. Schuester."

"We need to try first. Please San."

"Britt's right. We need to find out if what we think happened actually did."

Santana looked back and forth between her best friends. She hoped that they were wrong. She may not like Rachel very much, but she didn't wish something like that on her worst enemy.

Rachel came back in the room with an empty bottle. She sat it down on the coffee table. "You go first Quinn."

"Sound good. Rules first though. Number one is no lying. If we think you lied then you have to do a dare from each of us. Number two: You only get two dare passes in the entire game. So use them well."

Quinn put the bottle on its side and gently spun it. It landed on Santana.

They played the game for an hour daring each other to do stupid thing, and asking light silly questions. They didn't want bombard Rachel with the serious stuff right off the bat. They wanted to lower Rachel's defenses so she would be more willing to answer the tough question.

Oddly enough it was Rachel who asked the first really serious question. She spun the bottle and it landed on Santana. Up until that point Santana had always said dare, but she decided to throw cation to the wind and said truth.

"Who do you like fucking more, Puck or Brittany?"

Santana's mouth literally dropped open in shock. She wasn't sure which shocked her more. That Rachel had said fucking, or that she was brazing enough to even ask Santana a question like that.

"Ooo, I want to know that too!" Brittany exclaimed excitedly.

Santana, (with her mouth still open slightly) turned to give Brittany a look that was supposed to be a glare, but turned out to be a shocked look as well.

"Answer the question S," Quinn said amused.

Santana groaned and said a name quietly.

"Sorry. I didn't hear that," Rachel said.

"Brittany," Santana practically yelled. She huffed and took a breath. "I like fucking Brittany better, okay."

"See that wasn't so hard San," Brittany said, and then spun the bottle. It landed on Quinn. "True or dare?"

"Truth."

"Were you really drunk the night you slept with Puck?"

"I was drunk that night, yes," Quinn said.

"But…" Brittany pressed.

"But I wanted it to happen, I was just to chicken to do it without the wine coolers."

"How exactly did it happened Q. You've never told us."

This is why they were the Unholy Trinity. Because there were times when the three of them seem to starting thinking the exact same way. This was one of those times.

"I had just realized the man my dad really was, and I wanted to take something away from him. I was saving my virginity for marriage because of him, so I decided to give it away. It became painfully clear that Finn wasn't going to be able to perform so when Puck came over to my house I jump on the chance. Literally. I drank the wine coolers and then I kissed Puck. It doesn't take much more than that to get Puck to agree."

"Was it nice?" Brittany asked.

"It was about as nice as first times could go. Puck was gentle and made sure I was comfortable as we did it. He was real sweet too. He must have asked me a dozen times if I was sure about it, before he actually started, and then he made sure I knew that if I wanted to stop just to say the word."

Quinn watched Rachel as she spoke, gaging Rachel's reaction. Rachel's eyebrow furrowed, and a dark look over took her face.

"How do you remember it so clearly if you were drunk?" Rachel asked.

"I was drunk not drugged. It's a little hazy at times, but it was my first time. That's something that you want to remember. Unless of course you didn't want it to happened. Then you might try and block it out."

The trio could practically see the wheels turning in Rachel's head. "How about you Santana?" She asked.

Santana looked surprised for a moment. She was going to lie, but something gin the back of her mind told her to tell Rachel the truth. "Britt took my v-card freshman year."

"Were you drunk?"

"Not with Britt," Santana said. "I was the first time I slept with Puck though.

"What about you Brittany?"

"I'm still a virgin," Brittany said.

Rachel's mouth dropped open slightly.

"I'm just playing," Brittany said. "I gave Santana my v-card. We wanted it to be special, and we didn't think that any of the boys would be good. Puck's a sweet lover, but Artie is the best boy I've been with. He just lays there and lets me ride him while he plays with my special parts. I always cum with him."

"TMI Britt," Quinn said.

"Agreed," San said looking a little sick.

"How about you Berry. I bet you totally hooked up with Puck," Santana said.

"Noah and I did not have sex," Rachel said.

"What about you and Pillsbury Dough boy? You were all over him at the party."

Rachel's head swam with broken images of that night. It was nothing like what the girls were describing. She had wanted it. She led him on. She asked him to come back. She had kissed him. It didn't hurt that much.

"Did it hurt?" she asked.

"Um… yeah," Quinn said. She could see that Rachel was trying to figure something out. "The first time always hurts at first, but your body adjusts to the intrusion. Puck went slow, so it only hurt for a few minutes."

"Same here. It didn't really hurt with Britt, but it did with Puck for a few minutes."

"Did you bleed a lot?" Rachel asked.

That question threw the girls, and it was that question that they knew for certain that Rachel had been raped.

"I… ah…" Quinn cleared her throat unsure of what to say.

"I didn't bleed at all. My hymen broke because I use tampons. Britt bleed a little bit when I broke her hymen though. It was hardly noticeable."

"You would have to ask Puck that," Quinn said. "Rachel. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Of course I am," Rachel responded.

None of the girls believed her though. They watched at Rachel grabbed her wine bottle and chug the rest of the bottle, and then let a un-lady like burp.

"I did have sex the night of my party," She said after a few minutes of silence. "It wasn't anything like you are describing. It hurt the entire time, and I bleed a lot afterwards. It didn't feel like I thought it would. I guess Finn is just really bad at it."

Santana snorted. "He is horrible at it. Thankfully he is a one minute man so it was over quick."

"It didn't feel quick," Rachel said, more to herself then the girls.

"Sex with feelings is always better though," Brittany said. "I love having sex with San and I liked it with Puck, but sex is so much better with Artie because he loves me and I love him. It's like everything fades away when we do it."

"I love Finn," Rachel said. Images flashed more clearly in her mind despite having a large amount of alcohol running through her body clouding her mind.

* * *

 _Rachel opened the door for Finn. He had just returned from dropping everybody off at their homes. "Thanks for coming back Finn," she said as she let him pass. "I just didn't want to be alone tonight."_

" _It's no problem Rachel," Finn said. Staring at Rachel. She had shed the ugly green grandma dress and was just wearing a skimpy baby blue slip. "I like your nightie," he said._

 _Rachel looked down. She had completely forgot that she had taken the dress off because she was starting to overheat. "Oh. Thank you. Do you want something to drink? There is plenty left over from the party. You don't have to leave if you don't want to."_

" _Yeah sure. I guess one drink won't hurt," Finn said._

" _Okay," Rachel ran and got Finn a drink and then returned. "I'm really glad that you came back." Rachel leaned over and gave Finn a soft peck on the lips._

" _Rachel. You're being a clingy drunk again," Finn said._

" _Oh. Sorry," Rachel said awkwardly. "I think I am going to go lay down. I'm feeling a little sick."_

" _Okay. I'll just crash on the coach, and leave in the morning," Finn said._

 _Rachel crawled onto the bed and passed out without covering herself up. A little while later Rachel was being gently shook awake. "Finn? What are you doing?"_

" _I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't have blown you off earlier. I mean, I love you, and I'd like to believe that we could get through anything. Right?"_

 _Rachel smile. "Right."_

" _So I was thinking that maybe we should give this another try."_

" _I would love that Finn," Rachel said and then kiss Finn._

 _It was a simple kiss that escalated quickly. Finn pushed Rachel back until he was lying on top of her. Rachel seemed to sober up a little. Finn we can't do this."_

" _Why not," Finn said. Rachel noticed that Finn was slurring his words. "Because we are both drunk and I don't want to have sex yet. I want to wait 'til I'm twenty-five."_

" _Oh come on Rach," Finn said, and kissed her again. Rachel tried to push him off, but Finn was putting her full weight on to her. "I love you. I know you want me. Just let this happen."_

" _No. I don't want to," Rachel said very clearly, but Finn seemed to not hear her. She tried to push him off of her, but he wasn't budging._

 _His hands were roughly grabbing at Rachel's breast as he forced his tongue into her mouth, gagging her. She could feel his erection rubbing against her. She hadn't realized that Finn hadn't been wearing pants. She tried to push him off again, with no luck. She started to repeat over and over again that she wanted it. She wanted to have sex with Finn. She wanted it._

 _She cried out when he pushed into her with no warning or preparation. She turned her head to the side and repeated her mantra over and over again._

* * *

Rachel broke out of her stupor. Santana, Quinn, and Brittany were sitting there staring at her. The looks on their faces said that they knew what she just realized. She couldn't stand the compassionate and concerned looks they were giving her. She was suddenly feeling very nauseous.

She got off the couch and ran to the guest bathroom down the hallway. She just made it to the toilet when she violently threw up all the wine and pizza still left in her stomach. She felt a soft hand on her shoulder and instantly tensed. She relaxed when she realized it was Brittany behind her, pulling her hair up and rubbing her back soothingly.

Rachel laid her forehead on her arm over the toilet seat and started to cry.

"It's okay Rae," Brittany said soothingly.

"No it's not," Rachel cried, and then shook off Brittany's hand. "Go away," She said suddenly angry. "I want you to leave me alone." She whipped around and yelled at Brittany to go.

Not knowing what to do, Brittany turned around and fled the bathroom. She crashed into Quinn and Santana just outside the room. She started to cry, and then wrapped her arms around Quinn.

Santana shook her head and walked into the bathroom. Rachel was hunched over the toilet throwing up again. Santana sighed and bent down. She grasped Rachel's hair and pulled it away from the girls face. "You can save your anger for Finn. Britt is just trying to help. She's the reason we are all here. She saw you spiraling out, and she just had to save you."

Rachel sat back and sobbed. Santana looked unsure of what to do at first, but she figured she would do what she did with Brittany. She awkwardly wrapped her arms around Rachel and pulled her close.

"I was fine," Rachel sobbed. "I was fine. I was fine."

"That's why you've been drunk for three weeks, right," Santana said sarcastically.

"I am fine. He didn't do what you think he did. I wanted to have sex with him. I wanted it."

"You keep telling yourself that, but it's not going to make it true Berry. He did what he did and it's just that."

"I wanted it."

"Rachel. Did you tell him no at any point?" Santana asked.

"I wanted it."

"I'll take that as a yes," Santana said. She pulled away from Rachel and put her hands on both sides of Rachel's face. "You are not going to start feeling better until you stop trying to convince yourself that you wanted it if you didn't. Did you say no to him?"

Rachel let out a loud sob, "Yes."

Santana pulled Rachel close to her again, and whispered that it was going to be okay into her ear. She stayed Rachel until the smaller girl cried herself into exhaustion.

Brittany had calmed down enough to carry Rachel up the stairs to her bedroom. She laid Rachel in her bed. Rachel whimpered when Brittany pulled. She climbed into the bed behind Rachel and wrapped herself around the smaller girl. Rachel seemed to relax with Brittany cuddling her.

Santana motioned for Quinn to follow her out of the room. Quinn went over the bathroom and turned the light on, and then shut the bedroom light out as she follow Santana. Once they were back down in the living room, Santana said, "We need to find all the alcohol before she wakes up wanting more."

"Agreed," Quinn said. "Do you think she will be okay?"

"Yeah. Berry is, well she is Berry. She will bounce back. If your mom can do it after years of abuse, then Rachel can too."

"Let's hope so," Quinn said. "That was intense."

"Ya think," Santana said sardonically. "Come on. Let's find this shit, so we can plan what we are going to do when she wakes up. I have a feeling she isn't going to be happy with any of us tomorrow."

"I have a feeling your right," Quinn said.

It took them an hour to round up all the alcohol that Rachel had hidden in the house. They guessed that most of it was her fathers' private stash, but since there was so much they figured that Rachel had a supplier. They were going to have to find that person, so Rachel couldn't get anymore. After they were done, they locked all the alcohol up in the cabinet in the basement, and decided to hit the sack. They knew that they were going to have rough day. Both girls feel asleep envisioning all the ways they were going to hurt Finn.


	2. The Road to Acceptance

Rachel woke up the next morning feeling groggy, with a splitting headache. This was nothing new to her. She had woken up feeling like this every morning for two weeks. Today something felt different though. It was still dark outside so it had to be incredibly early yet. She tried to roll over to look at her clock, and realized why the morning felt different. She wasn't alone in her bed. Somebody was cuddling against her back.

Panic set in as the previous night flooded through her mind. Brittany, Santana, and Quinn knew her secrets. There was no way she was going to be able to continue burrowing this anymore. They were going to talk to her parents or Mr. Schuester, and they were going to make her talk about it. They were going to make her stop drinking. She didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about it.

Feeling Brittany so close to her was overwhelming. She felt better having Brittany near her then everybody else, but the feel of her weight reminded her of that night. She just didn't want to have to deal with it. She didn't want these memories. She didn't want to accept that she was raped. She wanted to go back to before the trio entered her house, and forced her to accept it.

She wiggled her way out of Brittany's embrace without waking the blonde, and tiptoed out of her bedroom. She figured that Santana and Quinn were sleeping somewhere in the house, and didn't want to wake them up. That was the last thing she felt like dealing with. She made it down to the first floor and entered the bathroom in the hallway.

She opened up the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. As she closed the cabinet door her eyes fell onto her reflection in the mirror. She took a long hard look at herself. There were dark bags under her eyes, her skin was pale, and her hair stuck out in a different directions. For the first time in three weeks she was sober enough to actually care about how she looked, instead of just making sure she looked presentable. She didn't like it at all. She didn't like how this was affecting her.

Her head was pounding, and she was feeling nauseous. She opened the aspirin bottle and dumped two out into her hand. She popped them into her mouth and then picked up the glass cup on the counter and filled it. She washed the pills down, and then set the glass back onto the counter.

She looked it the mirror again. The girl staring back at her didn't look anything like Rachel. This girl was weak. This girl was a victim. This girl was not Rachel Barbra Berry. She should have fought harder. She should have made him listen to her. She shouldn't have let him take Rachel away. She was angry.

Angry that he hadn't listen to her when she said no. Angry that he had ruined something that was supposed to be special. Angry that she hadn't fought hard. But most of all, she was angry that she had crumbled into a weak pathetic version of herself instead of facing it. She was Rachel Freaking Berry and she was ready for anything life threw at her.

Still the anger consumed her. She picked up the glass and threw it against the wall behind her, letting out an angry scream as she did. She stood there staring at the broken glass in triumph, breathing heavily, and growling in frustration.

Santana and Quinn (who were both sleeping in the living room,) jumped awake when Rachel threw the glass. Both looked around the dark confused as to what was going on. Santana looked at the digital clock that read quarter past four. "What the fuck was that?" Santana asked.

"I don't know," Quinn replied. "It had to been Rachel. She must be awake. We need to find her before she does something stupid."

"Yeah," Santana agreed made her way toward the stairs.

"San. I think she's in the bathroom," Quinn said.

Santana turned around and looked at the door she had just passed. She didn't even notice the light was on. She walked up to door and knocked. "Berry, are you in there?"

She got no response.

Quinn stepped up to the door. "Rachel, we're coming in."

Santana went to grab the door handle when the door flung open. Rachel was standing there, looking at the girls with anger written on her face.

"Get out," she growled dangerously low. Just hearing her tormentors talk to her through the door sent her rage sky high. The last thing that she wanted to do was deal with the two people who made her life hell. "You got what you came for, so just get out."

Rachel's head was throbbing, her throat was dry, and she felt like she wanted to throw up. What she wanted was a drink. It would take the edge off and make her hangover symptoms go away. She knew she couldn't do that anymore though. The trio had invaded her home because they suspected that she was drinking a lot. There was no telling what they would do now that they knew for sure. She couldn't risk her fathers finding out, or Mr. Schue. She didn't want to see the disappointing looks on their faces.

She pushed passed the girls and went into the living room. She flopped down on the couch that Santana had vacated just a few minutes before. Just the simply act of lying down made her feel ten times better. Once the pills kicked in, she was sure that she would feel a whole lot better. She just wished they would take her memories away.

"There is no way we are leaving you alone to drown your sorrows at the bottom of your ridiculous amount of alcohol bottles," Quinn said.

"I don't need a mother, Quinn. I had one for all of five minutes before she decided she wanted your kid more than her own," Rachel said.

"You can't say the same thing to me Berry. I ain't leaving either. So just get used to us being around you," Santana said.

"Whatever Satan," Rachel said and then stood up. She couldn't handle this sober, and at this point she didn't really care about people knowing about her. She walked to the basement stairs and descended into the Oscar room. She made a bee line for the cabinet. Rachel growled in frustration when she found it locked. She raddled the door.

"Did you really think we were going to leave the cabinet unlocked?" Santana asked.

"I didn't think you were smart enough to lock it up," Rachel said.

"Wow," Quinn said. "It's like you're a completely different person."

"No. I'm tired of cowering beneath you," Rachel said, and then practically ran out of the room and up the stairs.

Quinn and Santana shared a look of annoyance and then followed Rachel up the stairs. They found her in the kitchen rummaging through the cabinets. "We already found all of the alcohol in here," Santana said.

"And your stash in the living," Quinn added.

"And in the bathrooms."

"And in garage."

Rachel looked at them angrily before darting out of the kitchen, and up the stairs. She ran into her room and flip the light switch, no longer caring that Brittany was fast asleep in her bed. She went to her drawers and aggressively pulled them all open one by one.

Brittany awoke groggily and stared at Rachel in confusion. "What's going on Rachel?"

"She's trying to find her stash," Santana answer Brittany.

"She doesn't think we are smart enough to look in the most obvious places," Quinn said.

"You know for somebody who was only an alcoholic for three weeks, you sure did have a lot of booze hidden everywhere," Santana commented.

"That's because Rach exceeds at everything she does," Brittany said, sounding somewhat prideful of that fact.

"Yeah S. Why shouldn't her short stint as an alcoholic be any different?" Quinn asked sarcastically.

"Stop," Rachel yelled. She couldn't take it anymore. She was so angry. She turned to face the trio. "Why are you even here? You got what you came here for. You have enough to destroy my whole life. So go tell everybody that I let Finn fuck me, and that I am so guilt ridden over it that I drink all the time. I don't give a shit anymore. Just get the fuck out of my house, and leave me the fuck alone."

"No," Brittany said, almost sounding mad. She got off the bed and went over to Rachel. She grabbed the shorter girl by her arms. "No. I'm not going to leave you here to drown in your own head. You need a friend and now you have three."

"I don't trust you," Rachel said, and immediately felt bad about saying. The hurt look on Brittany's face was saddest thing she had ever seen.

"Then I will just prove to you that you can trust me. I will make sure you know you can depend on me." Brittany let go of Rachel. She turned around and started stripping of her pajama's, giving the entire room a good view of her naked chest. Once she was dressed again, she turned to look at Rachel. "San and I are going to get breakfast. Q is going to stay with you to make sure you are being a good girl. We will be back in an hour."

Brittany grabbed Santana's hand and pulled her out of the room. Brittany got into the front seat and started the car. Santana got into the passenger's seat, and looked at Brittany questioningly. "What's going on Britt?" she asked.

"Nothing is going on San. We're just going to get food," Brittany said as she backed out of the driveway.

"Don't play coy with me, Britt," Santana said.

"I'm not playing a fish. That's just silly, San," Brittany chuckled.

"Britt. You know what I mean. I know you are up to something," Santana said.

"Your totes right, Sanny. I'm just trying to make Rachel feel better, and I know the perfect way to do that."

"I love you Britt," Santana said adoringly. "Berry is lucky to have you looking out for her."

"I love you too Sanny," Brittany said. "I'm lucky to have you in my life. You're the bestest best-friend a girl could have."

Santana smiled at the blonde. She love Brittany so much, and couldn't imagine her life without her. She knew that she and Brittany weren't meant to be though. She would rather have Brittany in her life as her best-friend, then risk not having the girl in her life at all.

Brittany drove to the nearest Wal-Mart and parked the car, and charged into the store. She was a woman on a mission. She knew exactly what she wanted to get, and she wasn't leaving until she got it all. Santana chased after the blonde, wondering what had gotten into her friend. She grabbed a buggy, and quickly followed after her.

Brittany's first stop was the store little book nook. There were two things she needed to get in that section. A journal, so that Rachel could put all of her feeling onto the pages instead of keeping them locked inside, and the complete set of Harry Potter books. Nothing makes Brittany forget about the hardships of life better than getting lost in magic of those books. She had double checked before she left that Rachel didn't have them, and she was sure that they had them in stock because she had seen them here the last time she had stopped in.

Her next stop was to the woman's clothing section. She was on a hunt for the perfect pair of pajamas for Rachel. Rachel seemed like a nightie type of girl, but Brittany wasn't sure if a nightie was appropriate after what she had just been through. In the end she decided to get a nightie and a pants and shirt set, that way Rachel could choose what she wanted to wear.

After the pajama hunt was over, they zipped over to the bedding section. Brittany only had two bed sets for her bad, and she assumed that Rachel was the same. She felt that if she had been raped in her bed, she wouldn't want to see those sheet again, let alone lay with them on her bed. So she was going to buy Rachel a lovely new bed set, that way she could have clean sheets, and never have to see that set again. Brittany settled on a turquoise set. She felt like it went well with Rachel's yellow walls, instead of overloading the room with the yellow set she was had also picked out.

With the bed set safely tucked in the buggy, Brittany went a few isles over to the throw blanket section. She want Rachel to feel comfy anywhere she went in her home, and nothing said comfort then snugging up with a nice comfy blanket.

Tea cups were Brittany's next adventure. She loved tea. It was one of her favorite thing to drink. There were so many different kinds and flavors. There was an endless possibility of drinks, but in order to drink the tea you had to have the perfect mug. Brittany looked at all the mugs in excitement. There were so many different patterns and shapes and sizes. She wanted to buy Rachel all of them. She knew she couldn't do that though. She didn't know how much room the Berry's had in their cupboards. In the end she settled on three mugs. A plain tall yellow mug for those simple days. A mug in the shape of a duck, so that every time Rachel drank out of it she would think of Brittany. And finally she found a Wicked mug. How lucky could she have gotten?

The toy section was Brittany's next stop. She was off to find the perfect cuddly stuffed animal for Rachel. It couldn't just be any old stuffed animal though. It had to suit Rachel just perfectly. It took her fifteen minutes, and one annoyed Latina holding a dozen different stuffed animals for Brittany to find the perfect one. At the very bottom of the bin laid a medium sized pink owl. It was the perfect cuddle size, since he could see Rachel soaring higher than the rest of them, it suited her perfectly.

Santana watched her friend move randomly around the store at lightning speed. She couldn't help but smile at Brittany's enthusiasm. It was a little infectious, but only a little. She was getting hungry, and she still tired. She didn't dare tell Brittany to hurry up. Brittany was in the zone, and she was liable to get her head bite off if she did.

Unbeknownst to Brittany, Santana had seen an adorable night light. She figured if Rachel was drinking to try and forget what happened, then she probably slept with the lights on. The lamp was blue and in the shape of a star. It was made out of tiny plastic beads that were loosely fused together, so when the lamp as on, the light streamed through the little holes, and made it look like there where stars covering the room.

Santana breathed a sigh of relief when Brittany moved towards the grocery section. Finally they were getting food. Her relief was short live however. Brittany seemed to turn into a mad woman when she realized that she had no clue what Rachel like to eat. Then she remembered that Rachel was a vegan, and then got confused because Rachel ate cheese last night on her pizza, so maybe she wasn't vegan anymore. After she calmed down about that, she remembered that Rachel was Jewish and Jewish people couldn't eat certain foods. So in the end Brittany start throwing everything she though that Rachel might like into the cart, she made sure to get turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, because she knew Jewish people can't eat regular people. She made sure to get every type of vegan food the store's produce section offered, and she got lots of fruits and veggies.

By the time they moved to the registers they had two carts full, and Santana was ready to go back to bed. She loved shopping as much as the next girl, but not at six o'clock on a Saturday morning, when she didn't have much sleep to begin with. She was really hoping Quinn was faring better the she was. Maybe she got lucky and managed to put the hobbit back to sleep.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Quinn was not lucky at all. In fact, she was silently cursing at her friends for leaving her alone with Rachel, who she currently had pinned beneath her on the couch.

After the two had left, an awkward silence elapsed over Quinn and Rachel. Neither girl was sure what to say to the other one. On Rachel's side, she wasn't sure what to make of the blonde being in her room. The alcohol she had consumed last night was almost out of her system and she was really feeling like crap. All she wanted was to go find one of her stashes, and drink away the pain.

On Quinn's side, she wasn't sure what to say to Rachel. What do you say to a girl you spent the better part of two and half years making her life miserable? What do you say to somebody who was raped and was just starting to accept it? She didn't want to say anything that would make it worse, but at the same time she did want to help Rachel.

Rachel got up and excused herself to the bathroom.

Quinn sat on Rachel's bed for two minutes, before she realized that Rachel really shouldn't be alone. She bounded to the bathroom door, and gently knocked. She didn't want Rachel to think she didn't trust her. Rachel didn't answer so Quinn knocked again, louder this time. "Rachel are you okay? You've been in there for a while."

Still Rachel did not respond.

Quinn knocked on the door harder, and practically yelled, "Berry, if you don't open up right now, I'm coming in."

The door swung open suddenly to reveal a prim and proper looking Rachel, who was holding a vodka bottle in her hand. "I'm all good now Quinn. No need to panic."

Quinn went to snatch the bottle out of Rachel's hand, but Rachel was too quick. She spun around and ran past Quinn, who lost her balance and fell forward hitting her head on the door. Rachel ran out of the room giggling, unaware that Quinn had fallen.

Quinn stood up and felt her forehead. Feeling a cut, she walked into Rachel's bathroom to inspect the damage. A small cut was on her left side temple, bleeding quite profusely. "Damn head wounds," Quinn mumbled to herself. Head wounds always looked a lot worse than they actually were. She had found that out the hard way when she was eleven. She was jumping on her bed and fell off and hit her head on her end table. Her head was bleeding so bad she thought she was dying. She had ran to her fathers den crying her eyes out. She had been so hysterical, that her father could clean the wound and had been force to take her to the hospital. When they returned home her father had been furious with her. He was always kind to her, but that night she got her very first glimpse of the evil man he could be. He had whipped her with a belt that night.

Thinking back on it Quinn should have realized the kind of man her father was earlier then she had. She could have saved herself a lot of heartache. She was just glad that he father's abuse did travel farther than a few belting. She knew now that her mother had gone through a lot worse over the years.

She couldn't think about that now. Rachel was downstairs self-destructing with a bottle of vodka, and she had a wound to tend to. She inspected the wound and deemed it shallow. The last thing she needed was a hospital trip. She grabbed a red towel out of the closet, and place it over the wound.

Rachel was her next concern. She had to get that bottle away from Rachel before she had a chance to drink it all. It took her twenty minutes to find Rachel, who was hiding in the Oscar room, behind the couch. When Rachel saw Quinn, she darted from her hiding spot and up the stairs.

"Damnit. It's like watching a three year old," Quinn grumbled to herself, and then followed after Rachel. This time she was able to corner her in the living room. Rachel tried to dart past her again, but Quinn was ready for her this time. She grabbed Rachel by the waist, and drug her petite body over to the couch and flopped her down on her belly. Rachel fought to get up, so Quinn sat on her butt, effectively pinning her to the couch.

"I'm sorry to do this to you," Quinn said as she grabbed the half empty bottle out of Rachel's hand. Miraculously none of the contents had spilled during the chase. "I know you probably don't want to be pinned down after what you went through, but I have to think about you long term safety before I worry about you mental health."

Rachel fought to escape from underneath Quinn with no luck. After a few minutes she just stopped fighting. The alcohol she had consumed took over her mind and body, and she didn't very much care about anything. So what if Quinn was sitting on her butt?

That was how Santana and Brittany found them a half an hour later.

Both women walked in with their arms loaded with bags, to find their best friend sitting on Rachel Berry, with a towel pressed to her head. If fear hadn't struck them, surely they would have found the scene before them hilarious.

Quinn was sitting there glaring at Santana and Brittany. This was their fault. If they hadn't left then she would have a splitting headache to match her split head.

"Oh gods Quinn. What happened?" Brittany said. She dropped the bags she was carrying and ran to her friend.

Quinn glared at Santana and said, "We missed a bottle."

Santana dropped her own set of bags and moved towards Quinn. She move the towel away from her head to inspect the damage. "Aye dios mio. How did this happen?"

"She darted past me and I fell into the bathroom door," Quinn said. "Is it bad?"

"It's bruising already, but the cut is closed," Santana said. She down at the brunette underneath Quinn. "Q, I think she's sleeping."

"Yeah. She clonked out ten minutes ago," Quinn said looking down at the peacefully sleeping girl.

"Why are you still sitting on her then?" Brittany asked.

"Have you seen my head? I was not about to risk losing her ass again, because she was faking it. No way in hell."

"Okay Q," Brittany said. "I think it's safe now though. The three of us can handle her if she wakes up and goes all crazy Rachel again."

Quinn looked down at Rachel and then back up to her friends, weighing her options. In the end she chose to go clean the wound and get some ice. She slowly slide off of Rachel and watch to see any signs of movement from the girl. She blew a sigh of relief when Rachel didn't move, and then set off to the bathroom.

While Quinn was taking care of her cut, Brittany and Santana brought all of the bags into the house. They piled them all in the kitchen, filling every surface and half of the floor.

"Geeez``," Quinn said when she walked into the kitchen for ice. "What'd you do? Rob a Wal-Mart?"

"Britt went a little over board," Santana said, as she started putting away all of the food.

While Quinn watch Santana put the groceries away, Brittany took all of Rachel's presents up into the girl's bedroom. She wanted the room to look perfect for when Rachel woke up. She stripped Rachel's bed, and replaced the sheets with the new ones. She tucked the owl under the covers, so that only her head was sticking out. She took the throw blanket and folded it into a big triangle and placed it over the back of Rachel's desk chair.

She put the Star lamp that Santana had bought her on the night stand, directly behind the girl's alarm clock. She tucked the journal, along with the pack of multi-colored G2 pens she got, underneath Rachel's pillow. And lastly, she put the unopened set of Harry Potter books on Rachel bookshelf.

Satisfied with her handy work, she picked up the discarded bed set, and carried it to the basement where the wash was. She started a load, and then went and rejoined her friends. Santana was at the stove cooking already. All of the groceries were put away except for the three mugs Brittany had bought Rachel.

"She needs to eat," Santana said, without turning away from the stove. "Who wants to go walk the sleeping munchkin up?"

"Not me," Quinn groaned. She sat at the island with an ice pack on her head, looking particularly grumpy. "She'd caused enough damage to me for one day."

"I'll do it," Brittany said happily. She was excited to see Rachel's reaction to her presents. She skipped into the living room and kneeled beside the sleeping girl. Brittany couldn't help but notice how beautiful Rachel looked. How peaceful she looked. It broke her heart to know that the second the girl awoke she would she would just feel pain. She wished she pull Rachel close and take it all away.

One step at a time. First they needed to detox her, and get her to relay on something other than the alcohol. It had only been a few weeks, so Brittany was sure that they could save Rachel from becoming a full blown alcoholic. She just had to make Rachel face her rape head on, and to lean on the trio to help her through this.

Brittany tucked Rachel's loose hair behind her ear and place a tender kiss on her forehead. "Rachel. Honey. It's breakfast time. Wake up."

Rachel didn't stir. Brittany shook her gently, which seem to wake a little. Rachel began to stir slightly. Brittany whispered into Rachel's ear until the girl finally awoke fully, and opened her eye.

"Hey there beautiful," Brittany smiled. "San's almost done with breakfast. Are you hungry?"

Rachel looked at Brittany through alcohol fuzzy eyes confused by what the blonde was saying. She let the girl help her up, regardless. Brittany helped Rachel into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. She filled up the tall yellow cup, because it was Rachel's favorite color and she was hoping to brighten Rachel's day. She placed the mug filled with steaming tea in front of Rachel, who just stared at it.

Rachel was trying to figure out where the mug had come from, because she was almost certain that she had never seen it before. She finally decided that she didn't care where the mug came from, and took a sip. The taste of blueberries filled Rachel's mouth, satisfying her taste buds.

Rachel watched as Santana loaded the table up with a big bowl of cut fruit, plates of eggs, turkey bacon, sausage links, and toast. Her mouth watered at the delicious looking food. An empty plate was place in front of her, and Rachel didn't hesitate to load her plate up with everything on the table.

Quinn, Brittany, and Santana watch the girl in amazement as she began stuffing her mouth full of the meats. "I guess that means she isn't vegan anymore," Santana commented.

With her mouth full of food, Rachel said, "I despise mistreatment of animals, but my diet required a change. I wasn't getting enough nutrients from the vegan diet, so my father's forced me to go back to my old diet."

"She speaks," Brittany commented. "Welcome back to the world of the living."

"Blah," Rachel said in response.

"You sound sober at least," Santana said. "How much did you manage to drink before Quinn wrestled the bottle from you?"

"Clearly not enough," Rachel grumbled.

"Seriously Rachel. How much did you manage to drink?"

"Just a few swallows," Rachel sighed. "Just enough to take edge off."

"I hope it was worth it," Santana said. "Cause it's the last drink you are going to have for a very long time."

Rachel scoffed. "Look. I get that you all want to try and save me, but there is nothing to save me from. Finn did not rape me, and I do not have a drinking problem. So you can just save it for yourselves. Now if you don't mind, I am tired and I feel like laying down for a little while. Thank you for the food. It was delicious."

Rachel stood up, and dramatically turned away from them. She ran out of the room as fast as she could. The Trinity reminded Rachel of everything's he was trying to forget she didn't want to think about Finn raping her. She didn't even want to place the word rape and Finn in the same sentence. It didn't happen like that. She had wanted it. She had been all over him that night practically begging Finn to have sex with her. She had wanted it. She had.

No matter how many times she told herself that, she just couldn't make herself believe it. She just couldn't believe anything anymore. What do you do when the boy you love violates you like that? Finn was always such a sweet guy to her. To almost everybody really. Never in a million years would she ever think that Finn was capable of doing something like this. He just wasn't the guy.

Rachel entered her room and froze. Her bed was different. She walked up to the bed and felt the new comforter. It was so soft and inviting. She wondered where it came from.

"I didn't want you to have a reminder of that night every time you crawled into bed," Brittany said from the doorway. "I thought that if you had new sheets then you could get rid of the old ones."

Rachel sat on the bed and took the owl she saw peeking out from under the blanket. She wrapped her arms around it and buried her head into the owl. A single tear escaped, follow by another, and another, until she was just uncontrollable crying.

Brittany watched Rachel from the doorway, unsure of what to do. She knew that Rachel was hurting, and she understood that Rachel's head and heart were wagering war inside of her. She just had no clue how to actually help her. This is why she forced Quinn and Santana to come along with her. They were better at this then she was.

They were up here though. Brittany had told them to stay downstairs while she went and showed Rachel all her presents. This time she was going to have to figure it out on her own. Throwing caution to the wind, she decided that big hugs were in order. She always felt better after a hug.

She moved across the room, and sat on the bed next to Rachel. Brittany wrapped her arms around Rachel and pulled her close. To her surprise, Rachel didn't stiffen, but turned into the hug. Rachel kissed the top of Race's head. She didn't bother saying anything. She felt as though there were no words she could give Rachel at that moment to ease the girls troubled mind.

Brittany realized something as Rachel cried into her chest. Rachel was no different than Santana when she was upset. She always managed to make San feel better, so all she had to do was what she do with Santana. Minus the sex part. She didn't think that would be appropriate to do considering what Rachel just went through, and she was certain that Rachel wouldn't want to have sex with her anyways. She could do the hugging, and cuddling, and reading, and movie watching. She could do the best-friend thing.

Rachel was comfortable with Brittany. She didn't know why, or what it meant. She just knew that for the first time since that night, she wasn't afraid to be touched, to be hugged, and to be held. She wasn't afraid to cry. She wasn't afraid to admit the truth.

"I didn't want to have sex with him," Rachel whispered. Her voice was dark and gravelly, and the words were spoken just loud enough for Brittany to hear them.

Brittany looked down at Rachel in surprise. She finally admitted it. She was finally accepting it. Brittany kissed the top of Rachel's head again, and whispered, "I'm gonna make sure that you're okay. I won't ever let him hurt you again. I promise."

Quinn and Santana were standing in the door way watching the pair. If it wasn't for the dark cloud hanging over Rachel, then they would have found the moment sweet. But the dark cloud was hanging very low over Rachel, and that hut them. They weren't the cold hearted bitches they portrayed at school. They cared a lot more then they let on, and neither girl could stand there and just let Rachel drown in her own pain.

Santana motioned for Quinn to follow her into the hallway. "There is something I have to go do, Quinn. Are you gonna be okay if I leave you here with them? I don't think you have to worry about chasing Berry down for a while."

"I'll be fine San," Quinn said. "If Berry wants to play catch me if you can, then I'll sick B on her."

"That a girl," Santana said. She turned around and went down the steps, firing off a text as she went. There was somebody that she needed to see.


	3. Getting Proactive

AN: I do not own Glee

Hey guys. I just want to thank everybody for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. It makes my muse purr! I hope you like this one. I'm sorry for any mistakes.

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Chapter 3: Getting Proactive

Santana sat in Brittany's car outside of the Lima Motel, waiting for the person she had texted to show up. So far he was twenty minutes late. One would think a guy would be on time when the offer of no strings attached sex was on the table.

The longer he made her wait, the more anxious she became. She knew that she was playing with fire here, and she could very well walk out of the motel burned. Backing out wasn't an option with her though. Not this time. She wasn't going to let him hurt Rachel again, or anybody else for that matter. Even if it meant that she got hurt in the process.

Finally, Finn pulled up in his truck. He got out and made his way to Brittany's car. Santana took a deep breath, and pull out the recorder she bought on the way over and turned it on. She was going to make sure that she had proof to protect Rachel with. She slid out of the car, straightened her clothing and slipped into her act. She put a flirtatious smile on, just like she did the last time she let Finn fuck her.

"Hey baby," Finn said. He wore his patented goofy grin.

Santana wanted to puke when he called her baby. She wasn't his anything. "Hey Finnocence. You ready to have a good time?"

"You know it," Finn said, and wrapped his arm around Santana.

Santana had to use ounce of her power to stop herself from flinching away from his touch. She couldn't give him any reason not to go into that motel room with her. She sighed a breath of relief when he let go of her to go pay for the room.

They got the same room as they had a year ago. It was as dingy and grimy as she remembered it. It made her chest hurt to think about what they had done in that bed. Something that most definitely wasn't going to be happening this time.

Finn barely closed the door before he started pulling off his coat, and advanced on Santana. She backed up quickly and put her hand up. "Hold up, gigatron. Before we do this I need to know that you can go longer than two minutes. You were the greatest lover before."

"It was my first time. Of course I was horrible," Finn defended. "I've gotten loads better." He smiled at her. "Get it. Loads."

"Yeah. I got it," Santana said.

"Look. I've sex a lot since then," Finn said. "I totally lasted forever the last time I did it."

"Yeah but I'm a hot as bitch," Santana said flirtatiously. "I bet whoever this chick was nothing compared to my hotness. You know what they say, the hotter the girl, the faster you cum." Santana gave herself a mental high five for that lie. Ingenious.

"Really? I've never heard that one before. That would explain a lot," Finn said.

Santana had to hold back an eye roll. She knew the lie was good, but damn he was a dumbass for falling for it.

"Loving the person probably had a lot to do with it too," Finn said thinking out loud. "I didn't love you last year so it was pretty crappy. I totally love Rachel. That's probably why we enjoyed it so much."

Santana's heart stopped, and she had to do everything she could do to not haul off and beat the shit out of him. That would come after she got the info she needed. "You fucked the hobbit?"

"Don't call her that. Her name is Rachel," Finn said.

"I know Berry's name," Santana said. "When did you screw Rachel?"

Finn's goofy grin as back on display. "After the Glee party at her house. Sex with her was so much better than with the other girls I've been with."

" _That's because you got off on raping her you sicko,"_ Santana thought to herself. Aloud she asked, "How did you managed to pluck Berry's cherry? She's been swearing up and down that she isn't having sex until she wins her first Tony."

"What does it matter?" Finn asked. "I'm here to have sex with you. So are we going to do this or not?"

Santana let her façade drop a little. She didn't want to give herself away completely, but he also wanted to remind him of the person she was. In a slightly hardened voice, she said, "It matters, because she has been swearing up and down that she wasn't going to have sex until she was twenty-five. So how did you change her mind?"

Finn was slightly taken aback by Santana's tone. "I don't know. I just kissed her and she let me."

"Where did you kiss her?"

"On her lips," Finn stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Can we please stop talking about Rachel? She has nothing to do with us having sex."

"We're not having sex dumbass," Santana said.

Finn looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Santana advanced on Finn. "I said we aren't going to be having sex. You know what the word no means right?"

"Of course I know what it means, Santana. I'm not an asshole," Finn said.

" _No. Just a rapist,"_ Santana thought. "So when you went up to Rachel's bedroom, and she told you no, you decided her no really meant yes?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Santana was getting more and more worked up. She was barely holding herself back from attacking him. She couldn't do that yet. "I know what you did to Rachel that night. I know he left you on the couch when she went up to bed. I know you went up to her bedroom. I know you kissed her, and I know she told you no. I know you raped her."

Finn's face contorted in anger, and before Santana had a chance to duck, his fist was connecting with her face. Santana dropped to the floor in pain. She looked up at him with a bloody smile. He did exactly what she thought he would. "You son of a bitch. You punched me. What the hell," Santana said, sounding angry.

"I didn't rape her," Finn yelled, and advanced on her.

"No stay away, don't hit me again," Santana yelled for appearances. She had to make it sound convincing. When Finn got close enough, Santana brought her boot clad foot up and kicked him in his privates. Hard. The angle she was in allowed for her to get the boot to hit everything in between his legs.

Finn dropped to his knees and crying out in agony. Santana took the opportunity to get off the floor. She advanced on him and punched him in the face with every ounce of power she could muster. He fell backwards, and she jumped on top of him. She punched him again.

"This is for Rachel," She said, and punched him yet again.

"Stop," Finn cried. "I didn't do it Santana. I didn't do it. I promise she wanted to do it with me. I promise."

Santana froze. Her fist was still raised next to her head waiting to attack again. He sounded sincere. "Did she say no?" she asked. She knew that Finn did rape Rachel. There was no doubt about that in her mind. None. She wasn't going to believe anything that came out of his mouth.

"I… um… Huh?"

"Did…She…Say…NO," Santana practically yelled the perfectly punctuated words.

"No, I mean, yeah. She did at first, but she kiss me back when I kissed her. She was pawing at me like she wanted me, and she even told me not to stop a few times," Finn said.

"She wasn't pawing at you. She wasn't telling you not to stop. She was telling you to stop. She was fighting to get you to stop," Santana angrily explained.

"No," Finn said distractedly. He was trying really hard to recall that night. Every touch, every kiss, every word spoken. "She said no, but she did want it. She did. I didn't rape her. She wanted to do it. She wanted to have sex. She loves me, and she showed me how much. I didn't rape her. I didn't."

Santana punched him in the face again. "Yes you did," she said as she stood up. She stared down at her handy work. Finn's lip was split, his right cheek was already bruising, and there was a small cut above his right eye. He looked in bad shape. "If you ever come near Rachel again I promise you, you will be begging the cops to take your pathetic ass to jail. Don't show up at Glee on Monday or any day after that. If you see Rachel walking down the hall, you turn your ass around and go the other way. During lunch, you take your ass out fucking side. I don't want and to see you even looking at her. Do you gets me?"

"But I…" His words were cut off by Santana kicking him in his dick again. Well, stomping on his dick was more like it. "Yeah I got you."

"Good," Santana said, and then turned on her heel. She quickly made it out of the motel room, and across the parking lot to Brittany's car. She got in and wasted no time in starting the car and tearing out of the parking lot. She drove for a few miles, before she pulled over on the side of the rode.

The adrenaline she was feeling the motel room faded away. A loud sob rippled through the car, and Santana allowed herself to feel all the emotions swirling around inside of her. Her heart ached for Rachel. For what she was going through.

She allowed herself cry for a few minutes before she forced herself to calm down. She pulled the visor down and open the mirror. She pulled out the pack of baby wipes Brittany always kept in the glove compartment, and began to clean away the tears. She inspected the damage to her lip and wiped away the dried blood on her chin. She didn't bother to clean her hand. She already knew that the blood drying on her hand wasn't only Finn's. Her hand needed to be cleaned and bandaged.

She realized that there was no way she was going to be able to hide this from anybody. She wasn't sure how Rachel was going to react to her doing this, and that scared Santana a little. She hoped that Rachel would feel comforted by what she did.

She worried about Rachel's reaction all the way back to the Berry Residence. She parked the car in the driveway, but didn't get out right away. She took a deep breath and double checked that the tears were gone before she headed into the house.

Quinn was in the kitchen making lunch when she heard Santana enter through the front door. She put down the spoon she was using to stir the sauce, and walked into the hallway. She didn't see Santana, but noticed that the bathroom light was on. She knocked lightly on the door and let Santana know it was her, and then opened the door.

Santana was standing at the counter washing her hand. The fresh deep red blood mixed with the running water, painting the white sink.

"Oh my god," Quinn said, and rushed to Santana side. "What the hell did you do?"

"Close the door Q. I don't need Britt and Rach to see this," Santana said.

Quinn closed the door with her foot, and then grabbed Santana's hand. She pulled it close to her face to inspect it. She looked up at Santana to say something, but notice the cut lip, which had swelled three times its normal size and was already a deep purple color. "Jesus Santana."

"You should see the other guy," Santana joked.

"I'm sure I'll see him on Monday if he has the guts to show his face," Quinn said. She gently place Santana's hand on the counter and moved to the closet. She remembered seeing a first aid kit in there when they were hunting down Rachel's alcohol. She set in on the counter and quietly cleaned and bandaged Santana's hand. She had no choice but to wrap the hand in gaze. There was no way to get multiple band aides on Santana's knuckles.

As she cleaned the split lip, she asked, "Did you just kick his ass, or did you get him to admit it?"

Santana smiled awkwardly so she didn't hurt the right side of her mouth, and pulled something out of her pocket. She handed it to Quinn. "He acted like he didn't realized what he did, but I did get him to say multiple times that she said no."

"That was incredible smart, but so dangerous," Quinn said. "I'm glad you did it."

Santana was about to say something, when Quinn darted out of the bathroom. She followed Quinn into the kitchen wondering what was going on. She got her answer when she stepped into the room and saw Quinn at the sink draining spaghetti noodles.

"Are they still in Rachel's room?" Santana asked.

"Yeah," Quinn said, as she placed the empty pot on the stove. She lifted the strained and gently shook it, before turning and dumping the pasta back into the pot. She then turned to face Santana. "Rachel fell asleep about half an hour after you left. Brittany got her to tell her about what he did to her. I heard them talking about it. She sounded so broken. That girl isn't the Rachel who we know."

"She told her that he raped her, or did she actually tell Brittany about that night?" Santana asked.

Quinn sighed and walked across the kitchen to sit across from Santana. "She actually told Brittany how it happened. It was like once she accepted that he raped her, she couldn't hold it in anymore. San you would have been so proud of B. She kept whispering reassurances, and she kept Rachel talking until she got it all out, and then she just held her as she cried herself to sleep. She stayed so strong for Rachel."

Santana smiled softly. "Britt has it in her, she just has to figure it out. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have Britt there to hold me when shit gets tough. These last few months have been a bitch not having her around all the time."

"Rachel really seems to relax around Brittany," Quinn voiced an observation.

"I noticed that. There is just something about Brittany. You can't help but trust her."

"The same way you did?" Quinn asked.

Santana looked questioning at Quinn, trying to figure out what the blonde meant by that.

"You looked to Brittany before you answered Rachel last night about your first time, and again when you said your preferred Britt. I know you weren't looking to her for permission. You look to her because she calms you. She makes your feeling less daunting."

"You're too smart Q. You and B should start a secretly smart club," Santana quipped.

Quinn reached across the table and grabbed Santana's good hand. "I'm really proud of you San for admitting that you preferred Brittany over Puck. It may not have been the actually words, but it was close enough. It was a big step."

Santana ducked her head. "Thanks Quinn. It means a lot to hear that from you."

"I know we've had our differences, but no matter what. I got your back," Quinn said, and then stood up. I'm going to go get them."

"No. Let me," Santana said. "I want to tell Rachel what I did alone. I don't think she is going to be happy about it."

"Probably not, but I think she will appreciate regardless," Quinn said.

"Let's hope."

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Brittany was laying on her right side watching the girl in her arms sleep. Rachel had her head resting on Brittany's arm, giving the blonde full view of her face. Unlike this morning, Rachel's rest was anything but peaceful. Visions of that night invaded her mind forcing her to relive every kiss, touch, struggle, and the pain. She kept telling herself that it was a dream, but was unable to pull herself out.

Brittany was doing her best to calm the restless girl, but it just didn't seem to be working. She was placing soft kisses on the top of her head, telling her that is was going to be okay, over and over again. She was always comforted if somebody did that to her.

Rachel's eyes flew open suddenly, startling Brittany. She laid there not moving. Just blinking her eyes as she adjusted to being awake. She was trying to separate her dream from reality. A single tear leaked from her eye. She looked into Brittany's warm eyes and relaxed ever so slightly. She couldn't get the feel of that dream off of her skin though. She felt just as dirty as she did that night. It was like there were dozens of bugs crawling over her skin.

Without saying a word, she rolled out of the bed and ran to her bathroom, and emptied her stomach into the toilet. She felt Brittany come up behind her and pull her hair back. Unlike the night before she didn't push Brittany away.

Brittany rustled through a few draws next to them until she found a brush and some hair ties. She brushed Rachel's hair and put the hair into a high pony tail. She then gently rubbed Rachel's back comfortingly.

Rachel had stopped heaving, and had her head resting on the toilet seat as she enjoyed Brittany's touch. She felt like crap. Her stomach was churning, her head was pounding, and her body felt like it was on fire. Rachel's wished she could make it go away. "Britt. Please make it stop." She whimpered.

"I wish I could sweetie," Brittany said sympathetically. "What hurts?"

"Everything," Rachel whined.

Santana appeared at the bathroom door. "That's because you're detoxing," she said, startling Brittany and Rachel.

Brittany looked up at Santana and a look of horror crossed her features. She scrambled off the floor and moved to Santana's side. "Oh my god Santana. What happened to you?"

"I'm okay Britt-Britt. I promise it looks a lot worse than it actually is," Santana said, not taking her eyes off Rachel. She wanted to see Rachel's reaction when she saw the damage.

Slowly Rachel turned away from the toilet, and sat down on the floor leaning up against the sink cabinets. She looked up at Santana. A horrified looked crossed her face, and a sinking feeling settled in her already churning stomach.

"Britt, can I talk to Rachel for a few minutes? I promise I'll explain what happened after we're done talking," Santana said.

Brittany looked back and forth between Santana and Rachel. "Sure S. I'll just go down stairs and see if Quinn made lunch. I'm starving."

"She did," Santana said, and finally took her eyes off of Rachel. She looked at Brittany with a smile. "She made spaghetti and meatballs."

"Ooooo!" Brittany exclaimed, and then ran out of the room.

Santana looked at Rachel again. She took tentative steps towards her, and then dropped down on one knee. "Are you feeling up to moving? I'd rather do this somewhere more comfortable."

Rachel nodded her head, and allowed Santana to help her up. They moved back into her bedroom. Rachel sat down on the edge of her bed, and Santana pulled over the desk chair.

"I…" Santana started nervously.

"How badly did you hurt him?" Rachel interrupted.

Santana looked at Rachel surprised. She figured that Rachel would instantly know what she did, but she didn't think that Rachel would be so open to talking. "I… I messed him up pretty bad, but he'll live."

Rachel looked very closely at Santana's face. "Is that all he did?"

"Yeah. I didn't give him a chance to do more," Santana said, and then pulled out the recorder. "I don't know if you want to hear it. He denies raping you, but he did admit that you said no."

Rachel looked at the recorder. He heart was beating fast. "Play it. I… I want to know what he said."

"Are you sure Rachel?" Santana asked.

"No I'm not, but this is something that I have to do," Rachel said confidently.

Santana nodded and pressed play. There was static at first, but then you hear Finn's voice coming through. Santana watched Rachel very closely as she listened. She watched Rachel's features turn angry as Finn boasts about sleeping with her and the other girls. She gasped when Finn's fist connected with Santana's face, and again when she heard Santana's boot connect with Finn's crotch. After that Rachel's face became confused.

The tape ended and Santana pressed stop and then the rewind button. She looked up to Rachel. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Rachel took a deep breath. "He sounded sincere. What if he didn't realize what he was doing? Maybe he didn't mean to ra… To do that to me."

Santana sighed heavily. "You heard him Rachel. He heard you tell him no, and he didn't care. He wanted to fuck you and that's exactly what he did. It doesn't matter if he didn't mean to rape you or not. All that matters is what he did after you told him no. After you told him no, he still forced himself on you. That is rape."

"But…" Rachel started.

Santana got off the chair and kneeled between at Rachel's legs. "No. You listen to me and you listen really good." Her word were spoken with compassion, but a sense of finality. "You told him no, you tried to fight back, you told him to stop, and he didn't listen to you. No matter what the reason, or even if he didn't mean to rape you, changes the fact that he raped you. You are still going to feel exactly the same way you are no matter what."

Tears started to well in Rachel's eyes. "I wish I had never had that party. I wish I had never asked him to come back. I just missed him so much and I was so drunk."

"It doesn't matter Rachel. You can't change that night. No matter how much you want to. All you can do now is to put that night in the past where it belongs. You have me and Quinn, and Britt to help you get past this. We are here for you no matter what. I just need you to promise me something. Promise me you won't drown this away with alcohol anymore. Not even a single drop. It's just making things worse."

Tears were falling freely from Rachel's eyes now. She nodded her head, and said. "I promise, Santana. No more alcohol."

"Good," Santana said smiling. "One of us will stay with you until your dads get home, that way you have somebody to lean on. We will protect you."

Rachel touched Santana's split lip gently, running her thumb just below the cut. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"I'm okay Rach. It hurts like a bitch, but it was well worth it," Santana said. "You are worth it."

"Thank you Santana," Rachel emotionally said. "I wish you hadn't risked your life, but I am grateful."

"It's no problem, Rachel. I don't want him bothering you at school no more, and I wanted proof for if you decide to go to the cops."

"No," Rachel said quickly. "No. I don't want anybody to know about this. Nobody."

"Okay," Santana said. She stood up, and offered Rachel her hand. She helped Rachel stand up. "That's you decision. One that I will honor unless I think your life is in danger."

"I can agree to that," Rachel said.

Santana wiped Rachel's tears away, and pulled her into a hug.

"We should go downstairs and get some spaghetti before Britt eats it all," Santana said.

The thought of eating made Rachel's stomach churn. She turned and ran back into her bathroom.

"Or not," Santana commented and followed Rachel into the bathroom.

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After lunch (which Rachel was able to eat a little bit), Brittany show Rachel everything that she had bought her. Rachel was so grateful for the mugs and all the different teas she had bought. The blueberry one that Brittany has given her that morning had been delicious.

They moved to Rachel's bedroom, where Brittany pulled out both sets of pajamas and displayed them for Rachel, who chose the pants and shirt set with stars all over it. (Brittany thought that Rachel looked cute in them.) She showed her night light that Santana had bought her.

Santana shrugged her shoulders and gruffly said, "So you can keep the demons away and shit."

Next Brittany showed her the throw blanket she had bought, and then went over the book shelf. She pulled out the pack of Harry Potter books. "No matter what is happening in my life, I can always get lost in Harry Potter," She said.

Rachel was overwhelmed by it all. She was so grateful to have somebody in her life you cared about her. Yesterday she had been drowning in her confusion. She had been desperate to forget about that night, to make the feeling that she was raped go away. Today she was accepting what had happened to her, and that felt okay to her. She felt like it would be alright, because she had people to keep her from drowning in the pain and confusion.

Brittany got excited when Rachel told her she had never read the books before, nor had she seen the movies. She insisted on reading the book to Rachel. They settle in the living room with every blanket and pillow Rachel owned. They made a giant makeshift bed in the center of the room, and all cuddled together. The Trinity took turns reading a chapter of the book to Rachel, stopping only for food, bathroom breaks, and when Rachel's stomach decided it wanted to be emptied.

As the day wore on, Rachel's headache lessened and her body no longer felt like it was on fire. Her stomach was the only thing that seemed to be detesting the lack of alcohol in her system. Not that it was exceptionally happy when it was full of the stuff. It wasn't happy either way.

Sunday went mostly the same way. They ate, read some, stopped so Rachel could empty her stomach, and then continued to read.

After the fourth trip to the bathroom, Rachel asked, "How long is my stomach going to be upset?" She knew that the girls had google detox symptoms during lunch the day before.

Quinn looked at Rachel with sympathy. "A few days at the least. Your fever already broke, so it shouldn't be much longer. You didn't have a very long exposure to the alcohol like most pf the people who go to rehab. So I doubt it will go on for weeks."

"Weeks!" Rachel exclaimed pitifully. "I can't handle this for weeks."

"It shouldn't last that long," Quinn said.

"I hope not," Rachel said, and then buried herself deeper into Brittany's embrace.

By the time Santana and Brittany had to go home that night, they had finished reading the entire first book. Quinn had been the only one to gain permission to stay the night. Brittany had an early morning Motor Cross sponsorship meeting to attend to before school, and Santana mom refused to let her stay out on a school night.

Rachel became fidgety and anxious as the time closed in on nine. She was nervous about attending school sober, and having to see Finn. She didn't know how she was going to react, but she did know one thing. She knew that she hated him. She knew that Santana was right. It didn't matter if he meant to rape her or not, because the end result was the same. She had lost the most precious thing she had to give. He had taken her virginity against her will, and she could never get that back. She could never get that night back. He had violated her trust. He had violated her.

Quinn wanted to help her, but didn't know how. Rachel still flinched way at her touch. Not nearly as bad as when she had touched her on Friday, but it was still there. She couldn't embrace her like Brittany had been. She couldn't comfort her like that. All she could do was lay on the opposite end of their makeshift bed.

Quinn stayed awake until Rachel finally feel asleep sometime after midnight. She wanted to make sure that she was up if Rachel needed anything, and to make sure that Rachel didn't give into the urge to drink. Yes, she had been doing well so far, but that doesn't mean Rachel won't freak and start going crazy for it. The website said some of the detox symptoms might emerge later on.

Quinn was awoken just before two by loud whimpering. She groggily looked around the dimly lit room, to see where Rachel was. The girl was curled in a ball across from her. She was gripping the owl Brittany got her. Nightmare, Quinn realized. Nightmares were a side effect of the alcohol withdraw, and of being raped. So she wasn't surprised by it. She wasn't sure what she could do though. If Brittany had been there she would have cuddled with Rachel and the girl would calm down. She wasn't Brittany though. Rachel didn't respond to her like she did Brittany.

She settled on waking the girl up, so she could stop the nightmare. That was a bad idea. Since the room was only being lit by the star lamp that Santana had bought Rachel, Quinn looked like a big shadow to Rachel's sleepy mind. In a gut reaction she swung up and connected her fist with the face of her attacker.

"Ow," Quinn yelled and grabbed her eye, and backed up to her spot. "Fuck. Rachel it just me."

"Oh god. I'm so sorry!" Rachel exclaimed. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Ugh, I don't know," Quinn sighed, and stood up. She made her was to the bathroom to inspect her face. Her left eye was red and was already swelling. "Great. Now I have a black eye to go with the split on my head," She said to herself. She turned around to exit the room to get ice, when Rachel came barging into the room. She went straight to the toilet and wretched again.

"Seriously, how do you have anything left in your stomach?" asked sardonically. She leaned over and rubbed Rachel's back, pleased when Rachel didn't flinch at her touch. It was going to be a long night.

An hour later both girls were sleeping again, this time with more light turned on. Quinn feel asleep with her ice pack still over her eye, and Rachel had moved toward the center of the makeshift bed. Rachel woke up twice to go to the bathroom, and once because of a nightmare. Each time she woke up, so did Quinn. She was there to comfort her while she threw up again, and offer her a hug as she sat in their bed crying. Rachel appreciated it every time, but she also felt guilty for keeping Quinn awake.

After the third time Rachel woke, Quinn decided she was just going to stay up. She only had an hour until their alarms were going to go off, and she knew that if she fell back asleep she would be groggier, instead of just tired. She made a pot of coffee and sat at the kitchen table with her laptop waiting for Rachel to wake up. Her head was hurting because of Rachel punching her, the lack of sleep, and her worry over Rachel. No matter what happened at school that day, Quinn was sure that it was going to be a long day.


	4. First Day Back

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or much of anything else.

AN: Thank you for all your comments. It makes me immensely happy to read what you think. I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update. Hopefully it won't be long before the next chapter is completed. Thank you for reading.

* * *

Chapter 4: First Day Back

Rachel woke up just after six to find that Quinn was already awake, and cooking them breakfast. She stood in the doorway arching Quinn as she bustled around the kitchen signing softly to herself. It brought soft weary smile to her face.

Quinn turned around to put a pan full of eggs on the island, and saw Rachel watching her. She looked tired, but there was more color in her face then there had been the day before. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

Rachel moved into the kitchen slowly. "Tired mostly, and I have a slight headache yet. I'm not nauseous though, so that's a plus."

"Good." Quinn smiled. "That means you can eat." She pointed to the eggs, and then turned to pull a huge plate of turkey bacon off the counter.

Rachel's eyes bugged out.

"It's not nearly as good as the real thing but it does in a pinch," Quinn said as she sat the plate down on the island.

"I thought everybody was exaggerating when they said you loved bacon," Rachel said stunned.

"Nope. I love bacon. I could eat it with just about everything," Quinn said. She took a seat next to Rachel and handed the girl a plate. "Eat up. You're going to need your strength if you want to get through this day."

Rachel stared down at the food Quinn was putting on her plate. She suddenly realized how horrible this day was going to be. It was the first time she was going to see Finn sober since her raped her. How was she going to deal with this without losing her mind?

"Eat Rachel," Quinn said firmly. "You got San, Britt, and me to help you get through this. We will make sure he stays far away from you, and we'll be there if you start to feel like it's too much."

Rachel picked up her forked and began to eat. She eyed the fresh bruise on Quinn's face regretfully. "I'm really sorry about you face."

"It's okay," Quinn said around a mouthful of bacon. "It will heal."

"I still can't believe I punched you," Rachel sighed.

"Yeah well, you did just wake up from a nightmare. It really is okay Rach. You didn't mean to hurt me."

"No I did not mean to hurt you," Rachel stated firmly. "This is a bit strange"

"Which part, me sitting in your kitchen, me being nice to you, or you being sober?"

"All of the above," Rachel said meekly.

"The strangeness is mutual Rachel, but it's not all bad sitting in your kitchen and being nice to you,". Quinn smiled.

"No, it's not a bad thing, just strange."

Quinn looked at her phone. Santana wanted to get to school early so they could get Rachel to homeroom without a fuss. "We have to go in a little bit," Quinn said. "Santana wants to see you before classes start."

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"She just wants to make sure you're alright," Quinn said, and eyed Rachel carefully. "Look. I get this is all strange and new, but you can trust us. We aren't going to hurt you, or use this to rise to power or anything else crazy that is going through your head right now."

"I don't want your pity," Rachel said scornfully.

"It's not pity. It's called caring. You once offered your friendship while I was going through the hardest time in my life. This is just me… No… This is just us returning that favor. Giving you a friendship to help you get through this, and hopefully you'll still want us after you're all Rachel-like again."

Rachel eye Quinn carefully, looking for any hint that she was lying. There was none. She knew that Santana was sincere after hearing that tape, and Quinn had been nothing but nice to her since Friday. She had a very good reason to be wary of Quinn, but there was something inside of her that told her to trust the girl.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I really appreciate everything you, Santana, and Brittany are doing for me. It's only been two weeks since it happened. I don't know how badly I would have spiraled out of control if you guys hadn't saved me."

"I'm just glad that Brittany realized what was going on with you before you had a chance to let the alcohol consume you and your life. Alcohol may not have been my poison, but I certainly spiraled out of control after I found out I was pregnant. I did things that I am not proud of," Quinn said. She slid off the stool, and began cleaning up. "I don't know what I would do if I was raped. I'd probably do a lot worse than go on a two-week bender."

"Can you please not use that word?" Rachel asked quietly. She hated that word, but she hated it even more now that the word pertained to her.

Quinn paused her cleaning and turned to look at Rachel. "What? Raped?"

Rachel nodded her head.

"Raped," Quinn said, slowly and pointedly. "Raped. You were raped, Rachel. Were you not?"

Rachel looked up at Quinn sharply. Her insides were knotting up.

"That wasn't a rhetorical question Rachel," Quinn said with a hard voice. "Were you or were you not raped?"

Tears form in Rachel's eyes as she hesitantly nodded her head yes.

"I want to hear you say it."

The tears leaked from her eyes freely. "Yes," she croaked.

"No Rachel. I want you to say it. I want you to tell me that you were raped. You need to say the word."

"Why are you doing this?" Rachel asked pitifully.

"Because, you can't move on from this until you can accept what happened to you. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. Until you can say the word raped, you can never fully move past it. It's a baby step in the healing process but it still a step. Take it."

Rachel sat at the island with tears running down her cheek, her bottom lip quivering slightly, watching Quinn quietly. "I… um… I was…ah … Quinn please don't make me do this. Please."

Quinn's features soften as she moved around to Rachel's side of the island. She wrapped her arms around the crying girl, and place a tender kiss on her forehead. "You need to Rachel. I know I seem harsh but I watched my mother fear my father for years because she was denying the abuse. She's still not okay, but she is better now that she accepted what he was doing to her. Now that she is talking about what she had endured. I need you to be strong like my mom. I need you to tell me what Finn did to you. Please be strong."

Rachel let out a loud sob. "He…He r-ra-raped me."

"There you go. I'm so proud of you," Quinn whispered. She held Rachel, rubbing soothing circles on her back and whispering comfortingly in her ear, until Rachel had calmed down. She finally moved away from the brunette to get her a paper towel. "How are you feeling?"

Rachel looked up at Quinn with a soft smile. Her heart hurt from what Finn did to her, but the hurt felt lighter. She could breathe again. "Better," She said with a quiver in her voice. She accepted the paper towel. "It still hurts, ya know, but the weight that was there before is less.

"It will take time, Rachel. One day it won't hurt a fraction of what it does right now," Quinn said, and pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. "Shit.

Santana was expecting us ten minutes ago. You better go get dressed Rachel. Santana may like you now but she is still a bitch, and she is probably getting worried. A worried Santana leads to a bitchy Santana."

Rachel scrabbled off her stool and ran for the stairs. She didn't like the thought of Santana being alone at the school fretting over her. She got showered and dressed at a record breaking speed, and then they were off.

People had already begun to fill the hallways by the time Quinn and Rachel entered the school. It wasn't completely unheard of for Quinn to be seen with Rachel, but nobody had ever seen the two enter school together. A few people noticed the rare occurrence right away and stopped to stare as the pair move through the hallways. The few who noticed, tapped their friends and whispered something in their ear. Their friends then turned to watch the pair a well. And so, on it went, until they reached the choir room.

Quinn didn't notice what was happening since she was used to being watched, but Rachel caught on quickly. She nervously shuffled next to Quinn, and let out an audible sigh of relief when they reached their destination.

Rachel had barely made it through the choir room doors when she was engulfed in a hug. She hadn't even seen Brittany coming at her until the taller girl had her lifted off the floor. After the momentary shock wore off, she relaxed into the hug. She stiffened again when she heard Santana ask, "Aye Dios Mio, Quinn. What happened to your eye?"

"Nightmares," Quinn replied, and then eyed the little brunette in Brittany's arms.

"Berry did this," Santana stated in shock. "Damn. Remind me to never piss you off Munchkin. You pack one hell of a punch."

Rachel (who was no longer mid-air in a Brittany hug) looked down at the floor sheepishly. "I didn't mean to do it," she mumbled.

"I know sweetie," Quinn said. "It was a gut reaction. One that I'm actually glad you had, despite the black eye. It makes me feel a little better knowing you're not afraid to fight if somebody does try and attack you again."

Santana's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea Q. We should take a self-defense class together."

"Ooooo. I totes second that" Brittany said excitedly.

The Trinity looked to see what Rachel thought. "Learning how to defend self does sound like good idea."

"Awesome. I'll set it up," Santana said.

The bell rang signaling the start of the day, and the four girls traipsed out of the room quietly. The looks that's Quinn and Rachel had received on their way in was nothing to the looks they were getting now. It was impossible for the girls not to notice.

The girls walk through the halls in a triangle. Quinn was up front leading the way, and Santana and Brittany were in the back, with their pinky's linked following. Rachel was in the center of the three girls. It was clear to everybody that the Trinity were protecting Rachel. Quinn and Santana's appearances were catching looks as well. By the looks of them, it looked as though they had been fighting with each other.

By lunch time the rumor mill was in complete overdrive, and the girls were exhausted. Santana had thought for sure that Finn would wimp out and skip school, but she had been wrong. Finn rolled up at school just after home room. His battered appearance made the mill go crazy. Wild rumors of Santana and Quinn fighting over Finn swept the school, and that clearly Sam had beaten up Finn for this. Sam just had to choose that morning to have a doctor appointment, and not show up for school.

The Trinity took turns escorting Rachel to and from her classes. She shared every class with at least one of the girls, so the girls would escort her to the next class and wait until one of the other girls showed up.

Finn had made three attempts at talking to Rachel. The first two times Rachel didn't even realize that he was approaching her, because Santana and Quinn whisked her away down another hallway. The third-time Finn had waited just inside a classroom doorway, and popped out just in front of Rachel and Brittany. Rachel stiffened and hid behind the tall blonde, while Brittany glared at the boy.

Finn was so shocked to see Brittany glaring at him, that he did not notice Santana slid up next to him until she was whispering into his ear.

"Get away from them now or I will castrate you right here in front of everybody," she spat.

Finn looked terrified of Santana. He knew Santana wouldn't follow through with that particular threat, but he had no doubt that she would do something similar or worse at a later, more private time. He glanced at Rachel briefly before turning around and walking away.

The girls opted to skip lunch in the cafeteria and have it into choir room. They ate quietly, as none of them were sure what to say at that moment. Rachel was still visibly shaken up by Finn's approach, and none of the Trinity were sure what to say or how to help. They figured that it was probably best if Rachel could handle this on her own and they would reel her back in if it was getting to be too much for her.

Rachel had to run to the bathroom to vomit halfway through their lunch. Thankfully it was the first time she had puked since before school. Unfortunately, she also emptied all the food she consumed, so once the nausea passed, she was starving. Lunch had long since passed by the time that happened though.

Glee club was the last period of the day, and for the first time, Rachel wasn't looking forward to it. Her day had been long and tiring, and she had managed to evade her fellow glee-mates wondering questions.

Rachel and the trio were the main topic of discussion. Each of the wild rumors that were flying around school, had been brought up, and the group were trying to figure out which rumor was the most plausible. So far, they had agreed that there was no way that Rachel was under the protection of the Trinity. Rachel hated Santana, tolerated Quinn, and didn't pay much mind to Brittany. Santana and Quinn hatred for the diva were well know. There was no way they would be spending any time together.

The one thing they agreed upon was quickly quashed, when the trinity walked into the choir room, with Rachel by their side. They took their seats in the back row, hoping it would keep wondering eyes off them, but the Glee club didn't have any qualms about staring at them.

The bell rang, and as usual Mr. Schuester was late, giving the glee club ample time to whisper to themselves about new theories, loudly, and it was pissing Santana off. She was just about to snap when Brittany stood up, and walked toward the huddled gleeks.

"What we talking about?" she asked, startling the group. "Because it's rude to discuss people when they can hear you." She turned on her heal and reclaimed her seat. "Rachel is our friend. Deal with it."

There was a sense of finality that made Santana and Quinn proud. Protective Brittany was proud worthy.

Mr. Schuester chose that moment to grace them with his presence. He walked in carrying his bag, as usual placing it on the piano and then turned toward the group. He clapped his hands and began to speak but paused. His face fell. "Where is Finn?"

Santana rolled her eyes. Of course, he would notice that Finn was missing. "Frankenteen has decided to gift us with his resignation."

Schue looked confused. "He didn't come tell me that."

"Well, he has," Quinn stated.

"Actually. I haven't," Finn's voice floated through the room before he was seen. He strolled through the door with confidence. "Sorry, I was late. I was hoping to sing a song, and was getting a few extra minutes of practice in."

"By all means," Schue said, and gestured for him to have the floor.

Finn handed Brad his sheet music, and then turned to face the group. He looked directly into Rachel's eyes, and waited for Brad to begin playing. The beginning notes to Hoobstanks' The Reason, began playing, and Santana scoffed. Did he honestly think this would work?

Rachel stood up abruptly during the middle of the first chorus. She walked right up to Finn, who had stopped singing and was looking at Rachel eagerly. "No amount of songs will make me forgive what you did." Then she walked out of the room.

Quinn and Santana quickly followed. Neither noticed that Brittany hadn't followed them. Instead Brittany walked up to a stunned Finn, who was actively trying to figure out why it hadn't worked. He was so busy trying to figure it out that he didn't notice Brittany's foot flying through the air, until it as too late. The sneaker clad foot rammed into his junk, knocking the wind out of him. He grabbed his crotch in pain, and dropped to his knees.

Before he had time to comprehend who had kicked him, he was being grabbed by the front of his with incredible strength. He suddenly came face to face to a pissed off Brittany. She was glaring at him with such ferocity that he nearly pissed his pants.

"If you ever come near Rachel again, you will be begging for Santana to take over," She growled lowly. Finn would never admit it but in that moment Brittany had terrified him. She let him go with a shove, and walked out of the room as though nothing had happened.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rachel darted out of the choir room as quickly as her short legs would carry her. There were so many feeling swirling inside of her chest. Anger, fear, regret, shame, just to name a few, and they were overwhelming her. She needed to get far away from him. She felt dirty, just like she had the night he raped her.

She could hear her friends following behind her, but she made no move to slow down. She couldn't go anywhere without them since Quinn had driven them to school that morning, but she need to get outside. She needed to not feel like the whole school was caving in on her. She didn't stop until she was standing next to Quinn's car.

Hot tears stung her eyes causing her to angrily wipe them away. She didn't want to cry about this anymore. She just wanted to forget. Her body was buzzing with anger, and an overwhelming need to drown that anger in a bottle rose. It over took her senses, blinding her to what was going on around.

She didn't notice Quinn and Santana approaching her cautiously, attempting not to startle her. They spoke gently to her as they approached, but their words never registered in her mind. Quinn could see that Rachel had checked out, and held Santana back when she tried to step closer.

"She's not there at the moment," she said softly.

Santana looked at Quinn with concern written on her face. She then turned back to Rachel and waved her hand in front her. When Rachel didn't even flinch at the hand being waved in front of her, Santana looked back to Quinn frantic. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's checked out," Quinn said. "We need to get her out of here before the rest of the club comes looking for us. That's the last thing she needs."

Santana turned around to see if anybody was exiting the school. "Where's Brittany?"

Quinn whipped around, frantically scanning the view for her blonde friend. "Damn it!" she yelled. She turned back to Rachel to see if she startled her. She was unsure if she was relieved, or more concerned when she saw Rachel standing in the same position, seemingly unaware of what was going on.

"S, go make sure B isn't doing something stupid," Quinn commanded. She looked over her shoulder as she said, "I'll snap Rachel out of it."

Santana glanced at her friends briefly before turning and running back into the school. Quinn was right about Brittany potentially doing something stupid. Brittany had a soft spot for Rachel, and she was already riled up about what Finn did to Rachel. There was no telling how Britt would react without them there.

She retraced their steps back to the Choir room, the most obvious place to start looking for her, but was disappointed to find only the Greeks sitting there. They were talking amongst themselves, and Santana figured it was about what had just happened. They always gossiped about Rachel and Finn. Normally she wouldn't blame them for it, after all Finn and Rachel had become their very own live action soap opera, but this she couldn't help but snap at them. This time was different than the usual Finchel drama. This wasn't about their teenaged relationship. This was so much more than they could even comprehend. Hell, it was more than she could comprehend. She had no idea how Rachel was dealing with something so…adult.

Santana stepped into the room without anybody noticing her. "Yo. Quite gossiping about shit you don't understand," she yelled, causing the room's occupants to jump. She didn't wait for them to respond to her demand, as she really didn't care what excuses they were about to spill, or the inevitable question they had. What she hadn't accounted for was their need to know everything, and what they would do to get that knowledge.

Santana was only a few steps out of the choir room when two hands landed on her shoulders. She froze at the contact, and slowly turned to face the person who dared to lay their hands on her. She relaxed a bit when she saw Puck looking at her with concern written on his face. Puck was one of the few people she allowed to touch her without getting her death glare.

"What's going on S?" He asked softly. "Britt went all scary badass on Finn's ass."

"What'd she do to him?"

"She kicked him in the dick," Puck winced. He moved a little closer to her so the gleeks, who were al standing a few feet behind him couldn't hear him. "She threatened him, and I swear S, she scared the shit out of me. I've never seen B like that before. It was badass."

"Where is she now?" Santana asked.

"Schue stopped her from leaving. He took her to the office, Santana. What the hell is going on? Finn's back to dogging Rach, who looked like she was going to be sick during his song. You, Britt and Quinn are Rach's new besties. You and Quinn look like you've had your asses handed to you, and Britt is getting downright scary of Finn's ass."

"I'd like to know the same thing," Mercedes butted in.

Santana growled in frustration. She didn't have time to deal with this. "Look. Even if I wanted to explain, I can't. It's not my story to tell. I have to go save Britt before they expel her."

She turned on her heal, and strode through the hallways quickly, hoping to get there before Schue threw Brittany under the bus for hurting his golden boy. The bell rang above her and within seconds, classroom doors opened allowing eager students to flood out. Irritated at the sudden optical course, she pushed, shoved, and even threw some kid's bookbag out of her way.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally broke through the river of students and arrived outside Figgins' glass office. She walked through the main doors, ignoring the secretaries wondering looks, and moved towards Figgins' doors. She paused when she heard Brittany's voice flooding through the closed doors. Damn she sounded pist.

She looked up and zeroed in on Brittany, who was standing over Figgins' desk yelling at the older man. Finn was sitting in one of the seats with an ice pack to his crotch, and Schuester standing behind him. Taking a deep breath, Santana stepped through the doors.

"… do your damn job…" Brittany finished, and then turned to glare at Schuester.

Santana was a little uncomfortable by the glare. _"Damn, Puck wasn't kidding,"_ She thought to herself.

Brittany turned towards the door abruptly. "Perfect timing S," she smiled. "I've been suspended, and I really don't want to be in this vile room anymore. Walk me to the car."

Stunned by her friend's sudden shift in moods, she allowed Brittany to pull her away from the office without a fuss. The second they were away from the office, Brittany's smile faded, replaced with a scowl. "You okay B?"

"No," Brittany sighed.

"I hope you gave it to him good."

"I couldn't tell them why I did it, so I just yelled a bunch of random things at him."

Santana chuckled which caused Brittany to smile as well. "Is Rachel okay?"

Santana's smile dropped. "Not so much."

Brittany looked around the quickly emptying hallway, and then pulled Santana into the closest empty classroom. She closed the door, and then collapsed into the nearest desk. All the anger that had built up since witnessing Finn walk into the choir room spilled over. Tears flowed from her eyes freely, accompanied by heavy sobs.

Santana was surprised that Brittany had held it together for this long. This weekend had been tough, and Brittany was more sensitive than she was. She kneeled next to Brittany, and wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"He hurt her San, and he's going to get away with it," Brittany cried. "There is nothing we can do about it, and every day she's going to see him and get hurt all over again."

Santana sighed, "I know B. It sucks."

Santana couldn't really tell Brittany anything else, because she was right there with her. She felt just as useless and defeated. She was just as unsure of what to do as Brittany. She held Brittany tightly as her own tears fell.


	5. A Day Off

Chapter 5: A Day Off

Brittany and Quinn stayed with Rachel for the night, not that Rachel really noticed. She acknowledged them when they wanted her to do something, but for most of the night she laid on the couch mindlessly watching tv.

Rachel managed to sleep through most of the night, much to Quinn's pleasure. She had woken once from a nightmare, and only calmed down when Brittany wrapped her long body around her petite frame. After that she slept some-what peacefully.

When she woke the next morning, Quinn was gone, and Brittany was sitting on the couch watching her. She smiled softly at Brittany. "How long have you been watching me?"

"Since Q left for school, "Brittany replied. "You looked so peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you."

"Thank you." Rachel sat up and stretched. "We should probably go in," she sighed.

"We have other plans," Brittany told her.

"But what about our classes? The school is going to think we are skipping."

Brittany smiled softly at the look on Rachel's face. Even with what she had gone through yesterday, she still worried about school. "Well, I've been suspended. So, they weren't expecting me, and I called your Dads this morning and told them that you were sick and had been up half the night. They called the school and told them, and Quinn is getting our homework. So, everything is good."

"You thought of everything," Rachel commented.

"Yeppers," Brittany chuckled, and then bounced off the couch. "Come on. We are going out to eat, and then we have somewhere to be."

"Where?"

Brittany smirked. "Not telling," she teased, as she extended her hand out for Rachel to take. "You're gonna love it. I promise."

Rachel smile softly as she took the offered hand. "I guess I'll just have to trust you then."

Two hours later, Rachel was sitting on the back of Brittany's motorbike, shaking like a leaf. Of course, that could be the vibrations from the bike, but she was incredibly nervous none-the-less. "Are you sure about this," she yelled through her opened helmet. She tugged at her protective suit. It was Brittany's spare, so it was a bit baggy on her.

Brittany turned her head. She had yet to put her helmet on for this very reason. She wanted Rachel to get the feel of the bike before she began driving. "I won't take you over the big jumps," she promised.

"Okay," Rachel said, then closed her helmet. She wrapped her arms tightly around Brittany's waist, and waited for her to start moving the bike.

Brittany slowly moved the motorbike around the edge of the track that was used for the beginners. There were a few small jumps that only brought the bike a few inches off the ground. It was a bit mundane for her, but this ride was for Rachel, not her.

Rachel was terrified at first, but after a few laps she began to relax and enjoy the ride. She liked the vibrations running through her. It had a calming effect on her. When Brittany would go over a jump, that second, they were in the air was exhilarating. It made her feel free.

She tapped Brittany's stomach, and pointed to the track with slightly big jumps. Brittany stopped the bike, and opened her helmet. "Are you sure, Rach?"

"Positive," Rachel yelled back, and then tightened her grip around Brittany.

Brittany smiled as she closed her helmet, happy that Rachel was enjoying her surprise. She revved the motor a few times, and then took off towards the bigger track. She wanted to tear ass like she normally would, but she was sure Rachel wouldn't like that.

As Brittany neared the first jump her heart seized in Rachel's chest, but when she hit the jump and they flew several feet above the ground she felt amazing. She felt freer than she had since before the party. When Brittany hit the second jump she screamed with excitement, so loud Brittany could hear her.

Brittany smile widened when she heard her screaming. She put a little more pressure on the gas to make the bike go fast as they neared the next jump. She wanted Rachel to really enjoy it. They hit the jump and flew higher than before, and Rachel giggled with excitement.

Brittany took them around the track a few times before slowing the bike down, and heading back towards the garage. Rachel's hands dropped to cup her hips, sending a pulse through her body that had nothing to do with the vibrations of the bike. She sighed heavily as she brought the bike to a stop. Her coach ran over, and helped Rachel off the bike. The first time on a motorbike can leave your legs feeling like jelly.

Rachel was indeed feeling like jelly, but she suspected that had more to do with the excitement she was reeling from. She had gone a whole hour not thinking about Finn and what he did to her. She didn't have to drink to ignore her feeling, or to escape the memories. It was the first time in over a month that she felt whole.

She took off her helmet, and turned to Brittany, who was doing to the same. Her beautiful blonde hair fell from the helmet, glimmering in the afternoon sun light. A happiness she had never felt before filled her chest, pushing her forward. She stood on her tippy toes, and threw her arms around the taller girl.

Brittany was surprised for a moment, but quickly reacted with her own hug. She wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist and lifted her into a bear hug.

Rachel squealed at the sudden action, and then buried her head in Brittany's neck. "Thank you," she said, quietly.

"You're welcome," Brittany replied.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Hellish didn't even begin to describe Quinn and Santana's day. From the moment they stepped through the doors, they were being hounded by one person or another. The only moment they had to relax was during a class that they didn't share with any Gleek, which wasn't many. They couldn't even go to the bathroom without encountering one of their team mates as they came out of the stall.

By the time glee club rolled around, they had been ambushed by each of the gleeks at least twice, with Mercedes and Tina cornering them more than the rest of the club combined. They had heard dozens of questions, multiple theories, and a couple of accusations. All they wanted to do was bail on glee club and go home.

Rachel would kill them if they missed today's practice. Actually, the Rachel from three weeks ago would have killed her. She didn't know if the new Rachel would care. After yesterday, they had a feeling it was going to take a lot of work to get Rachel to care about anything. Still, it was the Rachel they all knew and tolerated that made them push forward and walk through the doors.

Santana groaned when she walked through the doors to find the entire club already assembled, Mr. Schue and Finn included. She turned to look at Quinn, who was already wearing an annoyed looked. They silently conveyed the desire to turn back around. Mr. Schue stood up and moved to the piano, gesturing for them to come in before they had the chance to flee. They took two seats in the back to avoid stares from their classmates.

"So," Mr. Schuester began. "With Regionals approaching, I was planning to forgo a lesson this week, and kickstart the process for song selections. After yesterday's display of poor sportsmanship, I have decided that a lesson is more important. You guys, we have three weeks until Regionals. Now is not the time for you to be fighting amongst yourselves, and it really is not the time for you to be singling out one of your own. It is not okay to interrupt somebody while they are performing, and it is definitely not okay to physically attack somebody for any reason."

Santana tried not to open her mouth. She tried really hard, but not even her mother could stop her at that moment. "You're right Mr. Schue. We do have Regionals coming up, and now is not the time for one of your lessons, especially when you don't know the story. We all know you have some sick obsession with Monster Finn here, and are blind to the fact that he's douche bag. So how about we get on with this show boat, shall we? You're so disappointed in us, blah, blah, blah."

Every person in the room had turned to stare at Santana. None of them were truly believing that Santana had just spoken to Mr. Schuester that way.

"I'm with San on this one Mr. Schuester," Quinn added, causing every head to turn to her in shock. "Before you open your mouth to defend this spineless bastard, make sure you know the full story. Otherwise, it is going to leave you looking like as ass."

"Look. I don't care what vendetta you have against Finn, but when you step through that door, you leave it behind."

"Sure Mr. Schue," Santana said. "I'll leave my vendetta at the door, when Finn isn't in here for me to see."

"Then we have a problem. Finn is a part of this team, and isn't going anywhere. If you girls can't learn to put your grievances aside, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave until you can."

A universal gasp ripped through the room like a whip, and Puck, who was sitting next to Santana, physically got off his chair and moved several seats over. Normally he would be right there to make sure she didn't do something stupid. That was his role as her friend, but she was smiling. Yes. There was a big smile adorning Santana's lips, and after Brittany's frightening display the day before, he really didn't want to know what level of psychotic she had just reached.

The rest of the group seemed to understand why Puck had suddenly moved away from Santana, when she opened her mouth had let out a gut busting laugh. Even Mr. Schuester had enough sense to seem frightened by Santana's odd behavior. He was used to Santana yelled at people in Spanish, while being held back by several of her classmates. That he could handle. This was something else entirely.

Even Quinn was looking at Santana with concern. Never in their friendship has Santana started laughing in a situation like this. She wasn't sure what to do.

Santana gently backhanded Quinn's shoulder and she sobered, "Did you hear that Quinn. Mr. Schue is kicking us out because we have a moral compass, and refuse to allow pencil dick to get away with what he did. We're getting kicked out for protecting Rachel."

Quinn smiled as she realized why Santana was laughing. In hindsight, it was a comical situation. Just weeks before she had been having secret make out session with Finn, and in a never-ending tug-of-war with Rachel.

"Come on," Santana said. "If he wants to play favorites, let him. R and B are waiting for us."

"I am not playing favorites, Santana," Mr. Schuester said, sounding offended. "But I do believe that you are treating Finn unfairly. He is our lead male, and he looks like he's gone three rounds with a boxer, then on top of him being physically attack in this very class room, Rachel rudely interrupted his performance. Denying us the chance to critic his work and help him evolve so he is prepared for Regionals."

"Um…" Mercedes said. "Who say's Finn is going to lead male at regionals?"

"Yeah," Puck added.

"Yeah," Mike said, then added, "No offence dude, but Puck is much better singer, and his voice flows much nicer with the girl's voices."

"And Sam did an excellent job with Quinn at sectionals," Tina added.

And we can't forget Artie, who has been killing it in practice lately," Mercedes said.

"Which is why we should take a vote on who should be lead male," Artie declared.

"I second that," Mike said, eagerly raising his hand. "As long as, my name isn't in the pot," he added bashfully.

"And Finn's," Quinn said, causing a silence to fall over the room again. "I'm sorry, but I refuse to have Finn represent us, in any compacity, at regionals."

"Girls," Schue groaned. "Enough. Whatever petty issues you have with Finn, put them aside."

"No," Santana said. "Our reasoning isn't petty. It adult. Too damn adult for me to even handle, but that's what it is. He shouldn't be here right now, and he knows why. If you continue to ignore that, there will be consequences, or maybe Finnept forgot our little conversation."

Finn scoffed, "I called your bluff Santana."

"Bluff, huh?" Santana asked, and then pulled a little tape cassette out of her coat pocket. She flipped the cassette over in her hands a few times, and then looked at Finn. "I guess I forgot to tell you that I recorded our conversation Finn. The only reason this tape hasn't already gone to the police is because she isn't ready yet, and she is the only reason why I won't play this tape right here. But by all means, continue to tempt me. Please, I dare you to keep ignoring our agreement."

Finn stood up, kicking the chair he was sitting on backwards as he did. "Shut up Santana," he bellowed violently. "For fucks sake, Santana. I didn't do anything."

Santana smirked, "That's not what you said on here."

"You tricked me. I didn't do that, and now you have her believing it. She won't even talk to me," Finn whined, like a kid who had his favorite toy taken away.

"I may have played dirty," Santana admitted. "But it doesn't change what you did."

"Shut up," Finn yelled.

"Or what? You gonna do to me what you did Rachel?" She taunted.

Finn took a step towards Santana, but was immediately stopped by every gleek in the room. They may not understand fully what was going on, but they understood that Finn had done something bad. Something bad enough to warrant Santana's protection, a gift that only one person (and sometimes Quinn) had been granted. That was enough for them to step in and stop him from gaining access to Santana and that tape.

"Alright. That's enough," Schuester yelled, and moved to stand between Finn and the rest of the club. "Finn, I think you should wait in my office," he said solemnly. The kids in the club may not have picked up on Santana's subtle accusation, but he did.

"But…" Finn tried to argue, but was shut down by Mr. Schuester.

"Go, Finn," he demanded. He waited until Finn shuffled reluctantly into his office, shutting the door behind him. He turned back to his students, all of whom were looking at him with shocked looks on their faces. "Um…. I think that a vote for lead male is a great idea. In fact, let's make it a contest. That will be this week's assignment. Guys, pick a song to perform and then the ladies will vote on who sang the best. Whoever wins will be our lead."

It was hard to get excited after the scene that had just played out. That was way more intense than their normal soap opera drama. Way more, and they weren't exactly sure what to do.

"Class is dismissed," he said, motioned for them to leave.

Santana and Quinn quickly stood and move toward the door, but didn't make it.

"Santana, Quinn, please stay behind," Mr. Schuester said.

They froze at the door, unsure of whether they wanted to make a break for it or stay and deal with their teacher. They watched as the rest of the glee club filed past them, all of whom gave them sympathetic looks.

"Take a seat ladies," Mr. Schuester said. He rubbed his hands over his face as he contemplated what he was going to do, and how he was going to approach it. After a few minutes of silence, he finally stepped toward the girl and pulled a chair out to sit in front of them.

"Listen girls, " he began carefully. "I won't lie to you and say I don't have a soft spot for Finn. He reminds me of myself, and I do believe that he has a lot of potential. Sometimes I can get blindsided by that, and I think this is one of those times. Santana, you haven't always been the nicest person to Finn…"

"Ya think," Santana muttered.

"…So, I believed you biased rubbed off on your friends, but that not what this is. Is it?"

Santana sighed and look at Quinn, who shrugged her shoulders. She looked back at William, and simply said, "No it isn't."

"Then I need to know what is going on," Schue said.

"Not gonna happen," Santana said.

"Santana," Schue sighed. "Can we not play this game today?"

Quinn sat forward in irritation and said, "This isn't a game and I think you know that Mr. Schuester."

"I do, which is why I need to know what is going on. Why are you so angry with Finn, and what is on that tape?"

"We can't tell you why we're pist at Finn," Quinn said.

"And there is no way I'm gonna tell you what is on this tape," Santana added.

"So, you might as well let us leave," Quinn finished.

"Look girls, this is serious. What you were alluding to is way beyond a high school tiff, and if you are being honest then she needs help."

Santana stood up, "You're right Mr. Schue, she does need help, but not from you. We gots this." She turned to Quinn, and gestured for her to follow, then walked past Will before he had a chance to stop them.

Will watched them leave, feeling more helpless then he had in a long time. He wasn't entirely sure they were telling the truth. They were teenagers after all, and they both have been caught in multiple lies during his tenure as Coach of the Glee Club. Still, he had a sinking feeling that what they were alluding to was true. It was a serious accusation. Too serious.

He turned to look at his office. The blinds were closed but he could see Finn pacing inside like a caged animal. He wondered if that is exactly what Finn had become. Maybe it wasn't what he thought it was, or maybe there was a misunderstanding. It was that thought that propelled him foreword. He needed to know what was going on, even if he didn't like what he heard.

The fact that Finn did indeed look like a caged animal when he opened the door wasn't lost on Will. Nor was the aggravated way Finn rushed up towards him. It was his words that made him stop and remember that this was his favorite student. A simple boy, who was dense at times, but had a good heart and a voice to match.

"I did do what they say I did," he practically cried. "It wasn't like that."

"Alright," Will said calmly. He placed a hand on Finn's shoulder, and said, "How about we sit down and you can tell me what is going on."

Knowing that he could trust Mr. Schuester, Finn agreed, and took a seat across from Will. "I didn't do what they are saying I did."

"What do you believe they are saying?" Will asked, carefully choosing his words.

"They think I force myself onto Rachel," Finn yelled. "I would never do something like that. I care about Rachel."

"But you and Rachel did have sex?" William asked carefully.

"Well yeah, Mr. Schue," Finn answered.

"And did she say no," he asked. Bile got stuck in his throat as his heart began to race, fearing the answer.

"She did at first, but then she kissed me, and told me not to stop," Finn claimed. "She wanted to have sex with me. She did."

"Okay Finn," Mr. Schuester said, attempting to calm the boy down. "Tell me what is on that tape."

"She's probably bluffing and there isn't anything on there," Finn said evasively.

"Let's pretend like she isn't bluffing. What could be on that tape?"

"Her filling my mouth with lies. Her trying to make me believe that I forced Rachel to have sex with me when I didn't."

"Okay Finn," William repeated. "How about you head home tonight and practice your song for the contest we are having, and yet me figure this out."

"So, you believe me?"

"I believe that you believe you didn't hurt Rachel," William answered evasively.

Finn didn't seem to notice that he was being evasive, because he smiled goofily. "Cool. Thanks Mr. Schue."

William watch Finn leave with an eerie feeling. Finn seemed so genuine, that he wasn't sure what to think or who to believe. On one hand Finn had never lied to him, but on the other hand it was a serious accusation. One that needed to be fully investigated.

He stood and made his way down the hallways to Emma's office, hoping she hadn't left for the day. If anybody knew what to do it would be her.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rachel and Brittany were cuddling in their makeshift bed, reading Harry Potter, when Santana and Quinn walked through the door. They paused in the doorway for a few moments, unwilling to break up the content atmosphere.

Brittany looked up at them and immediately smiled at them. That smile quickly flipped into a frown when she saw the looks Quinn and Santana wore. She looked down At Rachel who had yet to notice the additional people, and then looked back up to her friends. She sighed heavily, causing Rachel to look up at her.

Rachel frowned at sudden shift in Brittany's demeaner, and followed her eyesight. A sinking feeling settled in her chest. Her new friends were looking at her with a mixture of guilt and sympathy, and she knew without them saying it. She knew that somebody else knew.

"Who?" she asked, her voice remaining even, despite the fear that was slowly expanding in her.

Quinn walked forward first, taking a seat on the couch closet to Rachel's spot. "Mr. Schue," she said.

Santana sat on the arm next to Quinn. "It was my fault. I said something to Finn, and he understood what I was alluding too."

"What is going to happen?" Brittany asked.

"I don't know," Quinn admitted solemnly.

"Maybe nothing," Santana said hopeful. "I wouldn't let them listen to the tape."

"You took it to school," Rachel exclaimed.

"No, the tape with his quasi confession is safe in your first aid kit," Santana said, and then reached into her pocket. "I did take a blank tape in to scare Finn with if had the balls to show up again."

"Which he did," Quinn said. "We are really sorry he figured it out Rachel, but I'm not sorry for what we did."

"Neither am I," Santana agreed. "Schue was playing favorites with Finn again. That asshole raped you and Schue was downing you for interrupting him. Trying to turn it into a lesson on good sportsmanship and bullshit."

"He even tried to kick us out of class because we refused to go along with him," Quinn said. "I think Santana scared the crap out of everybody. She started laughing."

"Hey, I found it funny," Santana defended.

"Finn got pissed, Santana threatened, Finn got even more pissed, so Santana egged him on, and Mr. Schue understood what she was talking about," Quinn summed up the story.

"We are really sorry we weren't more careful," Santana apologized.

Rachel didn't say anything at first, mostly because she had no clue what to say, but partly because he didn't trust herself to speak. She was scared that Mr. Schuester was going to tell other people, and then it would get out. People didn't treat a victim well. In fact, there was serious repercussions for a girl accusing a boy of rape, and even more when that boy was on a sports team. Victims were treated like liars and brats looking for attention.

Then there was the fear that Quinn and Santana did this on purpose. That she was just making their friendship up in her mind and they really were out to get her. It was irrational. She knew this, but everything was still so new with them, and on top of that things were still jumbled in her mind.

She couldn't think like that though. Brittany had been so good to her and Quinn and Santana had been trying so hard to help her. They were trying so hard to be her friend, which is more than she could say about anybody else.

"It's okay," she finally said. "I know you didn't mean to do it."

Brittany hugged Rachel, and whispered in her ear. "We're here no matter what happens. We gots you back."

Quinn and Santana joined them on the floor, though they didn't move nearly as close as Brittany. While Rachel didn't flinch at their touch, she also didn't respond to it like she did Brittany.

"We are here for anything," Quinn said.

"And if some people need an ass kicking, I'll go all Lima Heights Adjacent on em," Santana added.

"Thanks," Rachel said, and gave them a weak smile. She was still terrified at what the next day brought, but it was nice to know that she wasn't alone anymore.


	6. Set Backs

AN: Hey guys, Sorry for the wait. Hopefully this makes up for it. I did edit, but I'm not the best at it, so I apologize for any mistakes. Feel free to point them out, so I can fix them, or just to let me know what you think. If you want a response, make sure you are logged in so I can do so. Other than that, enjoy!

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Chapter 6: Set Backs

Brittany was woken by the sounds of retching. She sighed heavily as she rolled over to face the open bathroom door. She was the only one who had been able to stay with Rachel that night, so they had decided to sleep in Rachel's bed. She crawled out of bed sleepily, noting that Rachel's clock glared 3:37, then made her way into the bathroom.

Rachel was hunched over her toilet, with her head resting on her armed, which was gripping the seat for dear life. Brittany kneeled behind her and gently pulled her hair back, then she gently placed her hand on Rachel's waist.

Rachel groaned, "I thought it had passed. I've felt so good the last few days."

"I was happy you were feeling good too. Partly because I hate seeing you feel so icky, but mostly because it would have sucked if you threw up all me and my bike."

Rachel snorted lightly at Brittany's undoubtedly series, yet still humorous statement, and then turned around to face Brittany. "Yeah. That would have sucked. I wouldn't have gotten to ride the bike alone if I had done that." She tried to hide the teasing smile tugging at her lips, but it was hard when it came to Brittany.

They had spent nearly every moment together since Tuesday. The only time they had been separated was when they were using the bathroom. In the morning they would wake up and have breakfast then they would head to the track, so Brittany could practice. Once Brittany had gotten in a good run she would take Rachel for a run on the bike.

In the evenings, they would cook dinner together as they waited for Quinn and Santana to join them. Then as they ate dinner, Quinn and Santana would give them the full dish about the going-on at school. Once dinner wash finished and all the dishes were washed, Rachel would insist that they do their school work before heading into the living room to continue their adventure with Harry Potter.

Quinn had been able to stay the first night, but not the rest because her mom needed her home at night. While her mother was doing better, she still had bad episodes.

Rachel smiled weakly at Brittany. "I'm really glad you're my friend Brittany."

"I'm really glad you're my friend too," Brittany said through a smile that lit Rachel's heart. "Are you feeling better?"

"I am now that you're here," Rachel replied innocently.

Brittany smile widened. "What a way to flatter a girl."

"You're up at three in the morning holding my hair as I vomit. I think a little flattery is deserved," Rachel replied with a smile. She shyly ducked her head as she said, "Thank you Brittany. Thank you for seeing what nobody else could. I can't thank you enough for helping me through this. You have been so great to me. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up at my door with reinforcements."

Brittany gently raised Rachel's chin up, and gave her bashful smile. "You never have to thank me for anything. I am so happy you're not a sad panda anymore, and I will do anything to keep it that way. Even if it means you throw up all over me and my bike."

Rachel snorted, and then smile widely at Brittany.

Brittany looked down at the brunette in her arms, marveling at how beautiful she looked in the moment. Unshed tears still well in her eye, but that smile made her whole face shine brightly. A tear slipped down her own cheek, surprising her. She hadn't even realized they were welling in her eyes.

Rachel raised a hand and gently wiped the tear away. "Okay. I think we've had enough sentimental words for one night, or we are both going to be sitting here crying." She smiled bashfully at Brittany again, then she stood. "My stomach is feeling better. So, I think it's safe to return to bed now."

"That's good because I'm super tired and we need our rest for in the morning, because I have a surprise for you."

"What is it?" Rachel asked eagerly.

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise, silly," Brittany teased. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Rachel turned towards the sink and groaned loudly. "If you insist," she sighed heavily, and then reached for her toothbrush. "I guess I'll just brush my teeth and go back to sleep and have dreams filled potential surprises."

"That sounds like fun," Brittany said. "I'll be waiting."

A few minutes later, Rachel shuffled back into her room looking a sad as she could muster in an attempt to get Brittany to tell her what the surprise was. Unfortunately for Rachel, Brittany had already perfected this move and wasn't about to reveal anything. Rachel claimed defeat (for now), and crawl into her bed, snuggling into Brittany's open arms.

"When are you daddies coming home?"

"Tomorrow night," Rachel replied sleepily. There was just something about being wrapped in Brittany's arms that made her feel safe. "Their plane is due at five, but they won't make it home until seven or eight."

"Good. That means I still have two whole days left before I have to go home," Brittany said happily, with a sad undertone. She enjoyed spending time with Rachel, and wasn't looking forward to having to go home again.

"I'm sure Artie will be happy to get his girlfriend back," Rachel commented.

Brittany frowned unhappily. She had only spoken to Artie a few times this week, and each conversation ended badly. He didn't understand why she was blowing him off to spend time with Rachel, and it wasn't like she could tell him what was going on, which only seemed to infuriate him more. She had finally told him that she needed space and would see him at school on Monday. Brittany didn't want Rachel to know this however. The last thing Brittany wanted was for Rachel to feel guilty about the rift in their relationship.

"He totes will," she replied. "But I'm going to miss spending all my time with you."

Rachel rolled to face Brittany. She gave her a bashful smile. "Thank you."

Brittany returned the smile. "You are totes welcome," she said, and then pulled Rachel closer to her.

While Rachel fell asleep fairly quickly, Brittany remain awake, unable to succumb to her need for sleep, due to her racing mind. Her life had change so much in just a week; she had changed so much. She looked down at the girl sleeping in her arms. A week ago, she could barely touch Rachel without her flinching. Now she had no problem using her as her own personal pillow, and Brittany had to admit that she really like it. Unfortunately, it also confused her.

Brittany loved Artie. She really and truly did, but the last few days with Rachel have been amazing. Artie didn't understand why she was ditching him to spend time with Rachel, which created this rift between them, and to be honest, she didn't really care at that moment. She knew she should care, but with Rachel cuddled in her arms she just couldn't bring herself to give even the slightest bit of a damn.

She smiled when Rachel let out a soft snore, and bent down to place a tender kiss on the top of Rachel's head. It was at that moment that she realized why she didn't give a damn, and it scared her. Rachel was so fragile yet. She couldn't mess things up between them because of a few unwanted feelings.

She placed another kiss on Rachel's head, and silently promised that she would let her crush come between them like it had her and Santana. Yes, they were friends again, but it wasn't the same as it was before. They couldn't lay in bed and cuddle like this anymore. It hurt Santana too much. Not that the woman gave any indication to this. She was Santana Lopez after all.

No. She wouldn't let this ruin the friendship they were building. That would hurt her too much, and she didn't want anybody to be hurt. She wanted everybody to be as happy as the duckies that swim around the pond by her house.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Santana rolled her eyes as she once again dodged somebody from glee. They were like freaking gnats. Everywhere she turned one of them was heading straight for her. They wouldn't leave her. It was frustrating her to no end. This whole week had been the most draining she had ever experienced, and that's saying a lot because she survived Sue's insane training camps.

She peeked around the corner to see if it was safe to go to her class, and came face to face with the worst perpetrator of them all; Puck. He was worse than a dog with a bone. She had seen this side of Puck before, but only a few times. It was his 'super protective mode'. Though, Santana thought of it as his 'super annoying mode'.

"Damn it Puck," she barked annoyed. "Would you stop sneaking up on me."

"Sure. Just as soon as you tell me what's going on," he said happily.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It…is…not… my… story… to… tell," she said punctuating each work perfectly and pointedly. "So, stop pestering me."

"Pestering?" Puck chuckled. "Sounds like something Rachel would say."

A horrifying look crossed Santana's face briefly, but was quickly replace with a glare. "I know big words, thank you very much. I am a straight A student. So, keep your comments to yourself."

Puck took a step backwards, and raised his hands in defeat. "Geez, chill."

Santana tried to walk past him to leave, but Puck gently garb her by the arm to stop her. "Nice try Lopez. You aren't escaping that easily. Not this time. You don't have to tell me anything. All you have to do is nod your head when I guess the right answer."

Santana gently pulled her arm from his loose grip.

Puck leaned closer to Santana to make sure she was the only one who heard his voice. "He raped her, didn't he?"

Santana took a deep breath and then looked up at him. She didn't say anything, nor did she nod her head, but the pained look in her eyes gave him all the conformation he needed. A look crossed his face that Santana had never seen before. Like he was pist off while trying not to vomit.

A sinking feeling filled her stomach. Another person knew a secret that they weren't supposed to know, and it was her fault. If she hadn't let Finn and Schue get the best of her, then Rachel could deal with this on her own. Now she had Schue hovering, the glee club sniffing around, and Puck about to go all protective brother on Finn's ass.

She walked away before he could ask another question.

He already knew too much.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Rachel watch from the sidelines as Brittany sped across the track, gracefully making every jump, and smoothly gliding around every turn. Over the last few days, Rachel had come to enjoy watching Brittany ride, just as much as she enjoyed Britany taking her for a ride. She appreciated her movements for what they were; a work of art. It was as if Brittany had managed to take her dance moves and put it into her bike moves.

Brittany turned the bend and flew over the last jump of the track faster than Rachel had ever seen her. The jumped was the biggest one, and by far the most frightening. Rachel's stomach met her throat every time Brittany neared it. Despite her incredible speed, Brittany landed the jump with grace; much to Rachel's relief. Brittany's coach seemed to be relieved as well, judging from the look on her face.

"She's amazing," Rachel said fondly.

"You have no idea kid," Taylor said, and then headed to the track entrance where Brittany was already waiting for them.

Rachel watched in disappointment as Brittany turned off her bike, and gracefully dismounted. Normally she would wait for Rachel to climb aboard for a ride. She pulled off her helmet and smile slyly at her, sending chills down Rachel's spin. She was never going to get used to Brittany smiling at her like that.

"Alright kid," Taylor said, and then patted Rachel's shoulders and then handed her helmet to her. "Just remember to breath, and try not to crash Britt's bike."

"Huh," Rachel said confused.

Brittany came up behind her and whispered loudly in Rachel's ear. "You ready for your first driving lesson?"

Rachel turned to look at Brittany. "Driving?"

Brittany nodded her head eagerly. "I thought you might like to learn. We can go real slow until you get the hang of it. Then if you're feeling comfortable, you can take my sister's bike out. It's smaller and will fit your height better than mine.

Rachel smiled, "Thank you, Brittany. This is amazing."

All Britany could do in response was to smile widely. She had been planning this for days, and while she knew in her heart that Rachel would love it, there was a small part of her that was nervous she would hate the idea. Rachel didn't hate it though, which made her immensely happy.

For the next few hours Brittany went through the motions on teaching Rachel to ride. Rachel was a quick study and had no trouble learning how to start the bike and how to shift it. The real test on Rachel's riding abilities was when Brittany pulled put her sister's bike for her. Rachel had a few missteps as she tried to balance the bike without Brittany's help, but she quickly gained her footing.

By the end of the day, Rachel was moving across the track with ease, and had even attempted a few of the smaller jumps. She crashed the bike the first time she tried, but got back up as though nothing had happened and tried it again. She landed the second one roughly, but continued to practice the jumps until she landed them with grace.

When she got home with Brittany she felt happier then she had in a very long time. She hadn't thought about Finn and what he did to her all day. As she laid down with Brittany in the living room, she wasn't worrying bout Mr. Schue cornering Santana and Quinn. She was happy and content, and had a moment of peace of mind.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Quinn was sitting in her last class of the day, excited for the end of the week. It had been an exhausting week for multiple reasons. First off, she had spent the entire week feeling the dull ache from the cut on her lip and forehead, and she seemed to have an ever-present headache. Partly because on the bump on her head, but mostly because of her nosey friends.

Between the classes she shared with them, the extra practices they were having before and after school, and the random secret meetings they kept conning her into joining, Quinn and Santana couldn't catch a break from them. Thankfully Mr. Schuester had cancelled glee cub for the day, allowing Quinn and Santana the opportunity to head to Rachel's a whole period early. All she had to do is get through her advanced algebra class, (which she thankfully didn't share with any other Gleek), and then she was home free for the weekend.

Mr. Schuester was the other reason her week was so hellish. She kept waiting for him to try and speak to them again, but he never did. She would have put it out of her mind, but she repeatedly caught the man slyly staring at her and Santana. She tried really hard to ignore it, but each night she went to Rachel's place to chill with her and Brittany, both of whom would look at her with a fearful look as Rachel asked if the man had talked to them.

Quinn looked up at the clock. Thirty minutes and she would be free. Thirty minutes and she could escape, and maybe, just maybe she would be able to relax, and stop feeling so damn guilty and scared all the time.

Twenty-nine minutes…

There was a knock on the classroom door, interrupting Ms. Clarke. The woman, who was fairly young compared to the rest of her teachers, answered the door, but the person on the other side of the door didn't enter. After a few moments of whispered exchanges between Ms. Clarke and the unknown knocker, the teacher closed the door, and looked directly at Quinn.

"Quinn, Mr. Schuester has requested your presence," she said. "Pack up your things, and come here and I'll give you this weekend's homework."

Quinn heard the words, but found herself unable to move. There was no doubt in her mind that Schue was pulling her out of class to try and get her to spill what she knew about Finn and Rachel.

Ms. Clarke moved forward. "Quinn, please don't keep Mr. Schuester waiting."

Quinn jump slightly. "Right. Sorry." She stood quickly, and followed the teacher to the front of class. Ms. Clarke wrote the assignment down on index card and handed it to Quinn. "Email me if you have any questions about the material."

"Okay," Quinn said weakly, then added, "Thank you."

She walked to the door as slowly as she could without drawing any more attention to herself, which was hard considering half the class was watching her like her like a hawk. When she opened the door, she was greeted by Santana, who was leaning against the lockers looked thoroughly pist off.

"Come on girls."

Quinn turned to look at the man she had been dreading all week.

"Look Mr. Schue," Santana said. She sounded as angry as she looked. "We told you already, we aren't telling you anything. So, you might as well give up already."

"Come on girls," the man repeated, and then turned around and began walking away from them. "It's either you follow me, or you can join detention after school. I believe Sue is running it today."

Quinn and Santana looked at each other in horror. They had no doubt the man would follow through with that threat and there was no way they were going to survive a detention with Sue. It was safer to evade Schue's questions. They hurried to follow their teacher.

Quinn walked into the choir room with the resolve not to say a damn word to the man. The resolve disintegrated within seconds of crossing the threshold and laying eyes on her mother. She froze, causing Santana to crash into her. "What the hell Quinn. Warn a girl before you decide to brake in the middle of a doorway."

"San," she said quietly, and then nodded her head towards the steps.

Santana followed Quinn's eyesight. "Shit," she sighed as her eyes fell on her mother, who was sitting in between Quinn's mother and Ms. Pillsbury.

"Mija," Maribel Lopez chastened as she stood. "Well, come in girls."

The words were said so sweetly, like a mother inviting them in to her room to try out her makeup, but Santana knew that the words were meant as a command. One that would get them into serious trouble if she ignores her mother.

Santana gently pushed Quinn into the room. To an onlooker, it looked as though Santana was using Quinn as a human shield. If Santana was being honest, that is exactly what she was doing. Her Mami scared the crap out of her at times, and the look she was receiving made that moment, one of those times. Quinn and Santana stopped a good distance away from their mothers.

"I can't believe you called our mothers," Santana grumbled.

"From what we've heard, I'm glad your teacher did," Maribel said, and then move towards the girls. She gently pulled them, so they were standing in front of Emma and Judy. She grabbed two chairs and set them down behind each of the girls. "Sit," she commanded. If the situation wasn't so serious, she would have smiled at how quickly they both sat down.

Maribel reclaimed her seat between Judy and Fabray, and looked seriously at her daughter. "I know you understand that this is not a game Santana, and I hope you understand that we only want to help."

Santana and Quinn looked at each other, then back to their parents, but remained silent.

"Quinnie, I know you sweetheart. I know you want to help your friend, but this is not how you do it. Ms. Pillsbury said that Rachel hasn't been in school since Monday."

"She's sick," Santana said. "We've been getting all her assignments, and helping her so she doesn't fall behind."

"The last thing she needs is a bunch of adults forcing themselves into her business, and making things worse," Quinn added.

"So, you're admitting that there is something going on with Rachel?" Emma asked.

"Just stating a fact," Santana said. "No teenager wants a bunch of adults meddling in their life."

"This is how they were on Tuesday," Will said softly.

"Santana Torres Lopez," Maribel chastened.

"Lucy Quinn Fabray," Judy mimicked.

Both girls crossed their arms, and put on a defiant look on their face. They were going to have to pry the information out of them, before they will betray Rachel's trust again.

"Fine," Maribel said. "I can see that we are not going to get the information we want from you, so you might as well go. Mr. Schuester says he cancelled glee club for the day, and since your period is almost down, I suppose you're free for the day."

Santana looked at her mother in distrust. There was no way they were getting out of this that easily. She looked to the other adults, all of whom were glancing at Maribel with unsure looks. She stood up, dragging Quinn with her, and paused for a moment, waiting for somebody to tell her to sit back down. When no one said anything, she pulled Quinn out of the room, all the way to their lockers.

"It's not that easy," Quinn whispered. The bell rang, and the hallway suddenly began flooding with students.

"I know," Santana said. She knew her mother well. No, that Mr. Schuester told the woman that they had information that he needed, she wouldn't stop until Santana spilled her guts. "Let's just get outta here before we get swept into another attempt by somebody, and we'll figure it out when we get to Rachel's place."

They made quick work at their lockers, neither wanting to be there when somebody came looking for them.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Back in the choir room Emma turned to Maribel with a questioning look, but it was William who spoke first.

"Why did you do that?" He asked. His tone wasn't mean, but it wasn't friendly either.

Maribel turned to look at the man. "Because I know my daughter. She thinks by keeping this secret, she is helping her friend, and because of that, it'll take forever to break the truth from her."

"Quinnie's the same way," Judy said. She turned to look at Maribel. "This isn't one of those times that we can let them have their secrets, however."

"I agree, which is why we are going straight to the source," Maribel said. "If you are right Mr. Schuester, and what my daughter hinted at has happened, then that girl needs help. Especially since she's been staying on her own for who knows how long. Do we have any idea when her fathers are supposed to return?"

"I thought they were home already," William said. "I overheard Rachel talking to Puck after practice last week. He wanted to go to her place to practice a song they were doing. She told him she couldn't because her dads got back the night before and she wanted to spend time with them."

"She's friends with Puck?" Judy asked wearily.

"I don't know if they are, but they used to date, and they did a song together a couple months ago," Will said.

"Then he might be able to help her down the road if she was assaulted," Maribel said.

"Do you have a plan?" Emma asked.

"I think we should have dinner with our girls," Maribel said. "A simple dinner to get the feel of how she is doing, and to let her know there are adults in her life that are here to help if she decides she needs it."

Judy nodded her head. "I think that is an excellent idea. Though, I doubt any of them are going to show up now that they know we know something is going on."

"Then we'll just have to go pick them up from Rachel's," Maribel said, and then stood up. She walked over to William and then extended her hand out for him to shake. "I want to thank you for bringing this to our attention. I know you were hoping to get the truth from them, but I think that this is something that Rachel has to do for herself."

"Just let her know I'm here for her," Will said.

"We will," Judy supplied. "We should go Maribel. We've given Quinn enough time to warn Rachel that we are questioning what happened."

"Agreed," Maribel said, and then added with a smile, "If we give them anymore time, Santana will whisk them off somewhere."

Judy smiled. She had spent very little time with Santana over the years, due to her abusive ex-husband, but she had little doubt that Maribel was wrong in her assumption. Santana seem incredibly protective of Quinn and Brittany.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Brittany and Rachel were laying in their make-shift fort when Santana and Quinn barreled through the front door, scaring the girls as they did.

"We gots to go," Santana yelled before she had even reached the living room.

"Must you be so dramatic," Quinn rolled her eyes. She entered the living room and smiled lightly at her friends. She hated to break up their cuddle time. "She is right though. We have to go before our moms show up to interrogate us some more."

Rachel sat up and set Prisoner of Azkaban to the side. "What are you talking about?"

"Mr. Schue called our freaking moms in to try and get us to spill the beans about you Rach," Santana said. She leaned down and picked up the book Rachel had set aside. "Mami gave up too easily. Which means she's planning something, and I'm willing to bet she's on her way here right now."

"Why would she do that?" Rachel asked.

"Because she protective, and I'm hiding something from her. She's like a dog with a bone if she thinks she can help somebody. It's been hell trying to keep my sexuality under wraps. I know she knows I'm gay, and she know that I know that she knows. She keeps looking at me like she was looking into my soul, and she keeps dropping hints at dinner or when she kisses me goodnight."

Rachel was staring at Santana with her mouth slightly open.

"Way to go, S. You broke the hobbit," Quinn said jokingly.

"Santana babbles when her Mami makes her nervous," Brittany said. She smiled fondly as she remembered the first time she heard Santana babble. "And after sexy times."

Santana looked at Brittany in shock. "Britt!" she exclaimed loudly.

"San," Rachel said. "While I am slightly shocked by your adorable babble, that's not why I am so stunned."

Santana mumbled, "I do not babble."

"Yes, you do," Quinn said, and then turned to Rachel looking for an explanation.

"Santana," Rachel said clearly, gaining the attention of her friends. "You just admitted you're gay like it was no big deal."

Santana looked at Rachel in shock. Then like the Grinch's heart grew ten times its size on Christmas morning, so did the smile on Santana's face. "I did, didn't I?"

"You did," Rachel said.

Brittany stood up and practically launched herself at Santana. "I am so proud of you Santana."

"Me too, S," Quinn said lightly.

Santana slowly removed herself from Brittany's bear hug, and then shyly said, "I didn't even realize I said it."

"That's because you were babbling," Rachel said.

Santana glared at Rachel, and then propelled herself forward. Rachel squealed as she took off towards the kitchen. Rachel darted behind the counter, and feigned right. When Santana moved to mimic Rachel's path, Rachel moved left and dashed out the other door into the hallway. Santana quickly followed, catching the girl just before she reached the base of the stair case. She pinned her to the ground, and began tickling her. Rachel began laughing hysterically and crying out for her to stop.

What began as good fun, quickly turned sour for Rachel, as her innocent cries for Santana to stop, brought her back to that night. Suddenly, Santana's weight on her felt suffocating. The hands that were innocuously tickling her side suddenly became harsh and painful against her skin. The laughter and playful teasing she heard coming from Santana, became deep and taunting. Suddenly, just as she had done that night, Rachel relaxed as he turned her head to the side.

It was then that Santana noticed the shift in Rachel. Gone were the girl's laughter, replaced instead with silent tears. She quickly got off her friend, and turned to look at Quinn and Brittany, terrified by Rachel's abrupt demeanor. They too were looking down at Rachel with concern filled eyes.

"She's having a flash back," Quinn said quietly. She gently stepped forward, then kneeled beside Rachel. "It's okay now Rach," she said softly. She placed her hand in Rachel's and squeezed lightly. "He isn't here now, Rachel. He can't hurt you anymore."

When she got no response from her, Quinn looked at Brittany. When she had done this with her mother it had worked because Judy trusted Quinn. She was close with Quinn, even after everything that happened. It was no secret who wasn't closest to Rachel, and that was Brittany. Britt was the one who was spending the most time with Rachel. They had spent the entire week bonding over dirt bikes and cuddling on their makeshift bed while reading Harry Potter. If anyone could break through the fog and reach Rachel, it would be Brittany.

The only problem was how terrified Brittany looked at that moment. Quinn understood how she felt though. The first time her mom had a flashback after her father left had terrified her. Judy had been making them breakfast one morning, when Quinn had said something innocent that remind Judy of Russel. One second Judy was fine, then the next second, she was standing at the stove stiff as a ruler, clutching the spatula for dear life.

Quinn hadn't realized anything was wrong until the bacon Judy had been cooking caught fire, and Judy didn't even move. She just stared at the flames with a blank stare. Quinn had been so freaked and scared that day. Since then she had been able to help Judy when she slipped into a memory.

Quinn stood up and move to stand in front of the other blonde. "I know you're scared Britt, but she needs your help," she said softly. "She thinks he's raping her again. We need to remind her that he isn't here. That she is safe with her friends."

"How?" Brittany asked shakily.

"Can you pick her up and take her back into the living room?" Brittany nodded her head. "Good. Cuddle with her like you were before we got here, and continue reading to her. She'll slowly realize that he isn't here, and that she is with you."

"Okay," Brittany said somberly. She moved to Rachel's side and gently lifted the girl off the ground. She carried Rachel into the living and cuddled up with her, just as Quinn told her to do.

Quinn and Santana watched them from the doorway. "What the fuck happened?" Santana asked quietly, sounding just as freaked as she looked.

"Flashback," Quinn said quietly. She leaned against the door way.

"She thought I was Finn?" Santana asked disgusted.

"Yeah," Quinn sighed.

"I thought she was doing better."

"She is doing better," Quinn told her. "It's only been a week since we go her to accept and admit he raped her. It's going to take more time than a week for her to completely get over it, if she ever does. She needs help. More help than we can give her."

"What are you thinking Q?" Santana asked cautiously.

Quinn locked eyes with Santana. "Maybe we should tell our moms and Mr. Schue."

"She doesn't want that," Santana whispered loudly, gaining a glare from Brittany.

Quinn pulled Santana into the hallway. "I know that. I understand her desire to keep it hidden, but what's going to happen tomorrow when her Dads come back from their vacation? I highly doubt the male Berrys are going to let Britt spend every night here with her. What happens when it's time to go up to the bed that he raped her in alone? What happens when she has to lay there every night thinking about what he did to her?"

"I… don't know."

"She was drinking every day to forget. I really don't want her to relapse into that mentality. If we tell our moms, maybe they can help. Or at the lest help Rachel tell her dads."

"You know better than I do, Q. I guess I'll follow your cue on this," Santana said reluctantly. She looked around the corner into the living room. Rachel was still lying still, but she seemed to be holding onto Brittany now. That had to be a good thing, right? It meant that she was no longer trapped in a memory. "Do you think there is something going on between them?"

Quinn looked around the corner as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"They're close," Santana said. "Like Britt and I were before the fight."

Quinn pulled Santana back again. "Are you jealous?"

Santana let a puff of air out. "I don't get jealous. Quinn glared at her. "Okay so maybe I'm a little jealous. I know Rachel has been through something horrible. I get that. They just seem really close."

"And you're afraid you're going to have to compete for Britt's time with somebody else," Quinn concluded.

"Well yeah," Santana agreed. "I'm already fighting for time with her because of Wheels, and no offense, Q, but you're not the cuddly type. Britt gives the best cuddles though."

"So, you're not jealous, because you think Britt is falling for Rachel?" Quinn asked, confused.

"What?! No, Q," Santana guffawed. After realizing how loud she was being, she quietly repeated, "No. I like having sex with Brittany, and I def like cuddling with her, but if I had a choice of having her as my friend or my lover, friend will win out every time. It sucked not having her in my life the last few months."

"Where was I when you were getting all adult like?"

"Playing tonsil hokey with Sam and Finn," Santana answered casually.

"Right."

"Got that figured out yet?"

"Well I sure as hell ain't choosing Finn, but I do think Sam deserves somebody who doesn't cheat on him," Quinn stated.

"Yeah, Ya really gotta get a hold on that cheating thing," Santana joked lightly.

Quinn lightly backhanded Santana, and then smiled. "I really do though."

Santana's soft smile slipped from her face. "All that aside, what are we going to do Q? I don't want to accidentally trigger another memory again."

A hard knock sounded through the hallway, causing both girls to jump.

"Shit!" Santana whispered loudly. "I forgot they were coming."

"Me too," Quinn said. "What do you think? Should we open the door?"

"I don't think we have a choice."

Quinn nodded her head towards Santana to open the door, who shook her head no. "Wuss," Quinn teased playfully as she passed the girl to open the door.

As the girl suspected, Maribel and Judy were standing on the porch. "Good evening girls," Maribel said sweetly. "Are you going to invite us in?"

"Well it's not really our place to do so Mrs. Lopez,". Quinn said just as sweetly, but opened the door wider. "Though I suppose you won't leave until you've spoken with us, so please come in."

Judy went first, placing a soft kiss on her daughter's head as she passed. Maribel mimicked Judy's action's, much to Santana's displeasure.

"Rachel is in the living room with Brittany," Quinn quietly. "We had a little… episode."

Maribel peeked into the room as she quietly asked, "What kind of an episode?"

"I," Santana said nervously. She looked at Quinn for reassurance. "I was just tickling her. Honest. She seemed to be having fun at first, but then she just zoned out. She was quiet and still, but tears were rolling down her face. I didn't mean to trigger her. I wouldn't have pinned her to the floor if I thought this was going to happen."

Maribel stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "It's okay Santana."

"No, it's not," Santana cried into her mother's neck.

"I'm okay now," Rachel said from the doorway, causing the small group to jump. She heard the newest additions talking to her friends, and came to investigate. "Please come in and sit. Can I get you anything Mrs. Lopez and Mrs. Fabray?"

Both woman look at how the girl stood there like nothing happened. "Please call my Judy dear. Fabray is my soon to be ex-husband's name."

"Judy then," Rachel said politely.

"Same for me," Maribel extended her hand out, and then gently squeezed Rachel's hand. "Maribel dear."

Rachel smiled bashfully, something that she hadn't done much before the rape. It was just another thing to curse Finn for. She had gone from a confident, strong woman, into a shy, weak girl. She wondered when she would stop feeling like this. How long would it take until she was back to her old self? Was that even possible?

She wished she could go back to that night and erase it. She had just been trying to help the club by gaining a new experience, while simultaneously bringing the club closer together. She had fucked everything up because of that one stupid night.

She couldn't though.

She knew this.

That didn't make her feelings any less worthless at times, and that moment was one of those times. Seeing her new friend hastily wiping tears off her face because of her was torture. If she hadn't been so weak, then she could have had a nice moment with her new friend, instead of freaking out on them. She also wouldn't have two of her new friend's mothers here to ask about that night.

Rachel didn't know what scared her more, the fact that they were here to ask about the rape, or the fact that she was going to have to tell them about the rape. Both were daunting, and they made her stomach queasy thinking about it.

Queasy was not a good thing!

Rachel suddenly turned and dashed for the bathroom, making it just in time to empty the sparse amount of food she had managed to keep down.

Outside the bathroom, Quinn turned to Brittany and said, "I thought she was doing better."

Brittany sighed, "She was until this morning." Before anybody else had a chance to ask her anymore questions, she disappeared down the hall.


End file.
